Islamophobia and Racism in America

Islamophobia and Racism in America Erik Love New York: New York University Press, 2017. 267pages.

This sociological study combines an overview of U.S. Islamophobia in recent decades, an analysis of a potentially emergent "Middle Eastern American" identity, and a re-theorization of race that has implications for how effective political coalitions might be built to address various forms of discrimination faced by American Muslims and other religio-ethnic groups originating from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. While looking back further, Love's central focus is on "anti-Islamophobia advocacy at the national level, from the late 1970s through the early 2010s" (p. 30). Making good use of seventy interviews conducted from 2005-15, this component represents the book's greatest original research contribution. Although provocative, Love's argument that we should theorize Islamophobia as racism and politically organize accordingly is potentially problematic.

Using as a jumping-off point the upsurge in hate crimes perpetrated against American Muslims and others presumed to be Muslim after the 9/11 attacks, the author asserts that the "co-constituted nature of American racism and Islamophobia" (p. 4) is traceable to the mistaken assumption that someone's religious affiliation can be readily discerned by his/her appearance. Essentially, being perceived through a "racial lens" makes it possible for one to "look Muslim in America" (p. 2). Love notes that members of other groups are often among the victims of such violence, notably Sikhs - Balbir Singh's 2001 murder being a particularly horrific example - but also Christian Arabs, Chaldeans, Sephardi Jews, and more.

Incorporating theories on the social construction of race, especially Michael Omi and Howard Winant's concept of racial formation, Love emphasizes ascribed identity - that which is assigned by the white-dominated host society. Recognizing the "Middle East" as a historically problematic construct, he nevertheless favors "Middle Eastern" as a shorthand and catch-all term for the groups in question, finding alternatives like AMENSA (Arabs, Middle East- emers, Muslims, and South Asians) and SWANA (Southwest Asians and North Africans) unwieldy.

A central interest throughout the book is the "centripetal" forces pulling these various ethno-religious groups together: stereotyping, bigoted rhetoric, hate crimes, structural racism, discriminatory policies, and microaggressions. Recalling a similar process in the emergence of "Asian American" group identity, Love speculates that "Middle Eastern" may eventually emerge as a...