Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T08:22:28.655Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Old-Fashioned Racism, Contemporary Islamophobia, and the Isolation of Muslim Americans in the Age of Trump

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2018

Nazita Lajevardi  and
Kassra A. R. Oskooii
Nazita Lajevardi*
Affiliation:
Michigan State University
Kassra A. R. Oskooii*
Affiliation:
University of Delaware
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Nazita Lajevardi, Michigan State University, South Kedzie Hall, 368 Farm Lane, Room 303, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. E-mail: [email protected] and Kassra A. R. Oskooii, University of Delaware, 347 Smith Hall, 18 Amstel Ave (Smith 403), Newark, DE 19716, USA. E-mail: [email protected].
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Nazita Lajevardi, Michigan State University, South Kedzie Hall, 368 Farm Lane, Room 303, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. E-mail: [email protected] and Kassra A. R. Oskooii, University of Delaware, 347 Smith Hall, 18 Amstel Ave (Smith 403), Newark, DE 19716, USA. E-mail: [email protected].
Get access

Abstract

While extant research has documented the existence of negative attitudes toward Muslim Americans, it is unclear whether old-fashioned racism (OFR) is at the root of contemporary Islamophobia, and whether beliefs in the inherent inferiority of Muslims are linked to support for political actors and policies that aim to further isolate them. Bringing to bear a unique dataset of 1,044 white, black, Latino, and Asian participants, we demonstrate that a nontrivial portion of survey respondents make blatantly racist evaluations and rate Muslim Americans as the least “evolved” group. Next, we illustrate that these dehumanizing attitudes are strongly linked to modern objections of Muslim Americans, which we measure with a new Muslim American resentment scale (MAR). Our mediation analysis reveals that the relationship between OFR, support for President Trump, and various policy positions is powerfully mediated by MAR. These results suggest that the relevance of OFR in contemporary politics should not easily be dismissed, and that the literature on racial attitudes, which has predominantly focused on the Black-white dichotomy, should also be extended to appraisals of Muslim Americans.

Keywords

old-fashioned racismIslamophobiaracial attitudesMuslim Americansgroup ratings
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics , Volume 3 , Special Issue 1: Race, Religion, Gender and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election , March 2018 , pp. 112 - 152
Copyright
Copyright © The Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abu-Ras, Wahiba M., and Suarez, Zulema E.. 2009. “Muslim Men and Women's Perception of Discrimination, Hate Crimes, and PTSD Symptoms Post 9/11.” Traumatology 15(3): 48.Google Scholar
Acevedo, Gabriel A., and Chaudhary, Ali R.. 2015. “Religion, Cultural Clash, and Muslim American Attitudes about Politically Motivated Violence.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 54(2): 242–260.Google Scholar
Agirdag, Orhan, Van Houtte, Mieke, and Loobuyck, Patrick. 2012. “Determinants of Attitudes Toward Muslim Students Among Flemish Teachers: A Research Note.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 51: 368–376.Google Scholar
Baker, Lee D. 1998. From Savage to Negro: Anthropology and the Construction of Race, 1896–1954. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: Univ of California Press.Google Scholar
Bobo, Lawrence. 2001. “Racial Attitudes and Relations at the Close of the Twentieth Century.” In America Becoming: Racial Trends and their Consequences, Vol. 1, Washington, DC: National Academies Press, pp. 264–301.Google Scholar
Bobo, Lawrence, and Kluegel, James. 1997. “Status, Ideology, and Dimensions of Whites’ Racial Beliefs and Attitudes: Progress and Stagnation.” In Racial Attitudes in the 1990s: Continuity and Change, eds. Tuch, Steven A. and Martin, Jack K., Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 93–120.Google Scholar
Bobo, Lawrence, Kluegel, James R., and Smith, Ryan A.. 1997. “Laissez-faire Racism: The Crystallization of a Kinder, Gentler, Antiblack Ideology.” In Racial Attitudes in the 1990s: Continuity and Change, Vol. 15, 23–5.Google Scholar
Bruneau, Emile. 2016. Understanding the terrorist mind. In Cerebrum: The Dana Forum on Brain Science, New York: Dana Foundation. http://www.dana.org/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=122957 (accessed November 21, 2016).Google Scholar
Bruneau, Emile, and Kteily, Nour. 2017. “The Enemy as Animal: Symmetric Dehumanization During Asymmetric Warfare.” PloS ONE 12(7): e0181422.Google Scholar
Bruyneel, Kevin. 2007. The Third Space of Sovereignty: The Postcolonial Politics of US-Indigenous Relations. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Cainkar, Louise. 2002. “No Longer Invisible: Arab and Muslim Exclusion after September 11.” Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications 32(224): 22–29.Google Scholar
Cainkar, Louis A. 2009. Homeland Insecurity: The Arab American and Muslim American Experience after 9/11. Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
CAIR. 2013. “Legislating Fear: Islamophobia and its Impact in the United States.” In Council on American-Islamic Relations. https://www.cair.com/images/islamophobia/Legislating-Fear.pdf.Google Scholar
Calfano, Brian, Lajevardi, Nazita, and Michelson, Melissa. forthcoming. “Trumped Up Challenges: Limitations, Opportunities, and the Future of Political Research on Muslim Americans.” Politics, Groups, and Identities. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2017. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21565503.2017.1386573.Google Scholar
Collingwood, Loren, Lajevardi, Nazita, and Oskooii, Kassra AR. forthcoming. “A Change of Heart? Why Individual-Level Public Opinion Shifted Against Trump's Muslim Ban.” Political Behavior. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-017-9439-z.Google Scholar
Dana, Karam, Barreto, Matt A., and Oskooii, Kassra A. R.. 2011. “Mosques as American Institutions: Mosque Attendance, Religiosity and Integration into the Political System among American Muslims.” Religions 2(4): 504–524.Google Scholar
Dana, Karam, Lajevardi, Nazita, Oskooii, Kassra A. R., and Walker, Hannah. forthcoming. “Veiled Politics: Experiences with Discrimination among Muslim Americans.” Politics and Religion.Google Scholar
Dana, Karam, Wilcox-Archuleta, Bryan, and Barreto, Matt. 2017. “The Political Incorporation of Muslims in the United States: The Mobilizing Role of Religiosity in Islam.” Journal of Race, Ethnicity and Politics 2(2): 170–200.Google Scholar
Dower, John W. 1986. War Without Mercy: Race & Power in the Pacific War. New York: Pantheon Books.Google Scholar
Edgell, Penny, Gerteis, Joseph, and Hartmann, Douglas. 2006. “Atheists as “Other”: Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society.” American Sociological Review 71(2): 211–234.Google Scholar
Esposito, John L. 1999. The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality? New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Feldman, Stanley, Huddy, Leonie, and Perkins, David. 2009. Explicit Racism and White Opposition to Residential Integration. In Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Association, Chicago, IL: April. Vol. 25.Google Scholar
Firebaugh, Glenn, and Davis, Kenneth E.. 1988. “Trends in Antiblack Prejudice, 1972–1984: Region and Cohort Effects.” American Journal of Sociology 94(2): 251–72.Google Scholar
Gaertner, Samuel L, and Dovidio, John F.. 1986. The Aversive Form of Racism. In Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism, eds. Dovidio, John F. & Gaertner, Samue L.. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, pp. 61–89.Google Scholar
GhaneaBassiri, Kambiz. 2013. “Islamophobia and American History.” In Islamophobia in America. ed. Ernst, C. W., New York: Palgrave Macmillian, pp. 53–74.Google Scholar
Giugni, Marco, Michel, Noémi, and Gianni, Matteo. 2014. “Associational Involvement, Social Capital and the Political Participation of Ethno-Religious Minorities: The Case of Muslims in Switzerland.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 40(10): 1593–613.Google Scholar
Henry, Patrick J, and Sears, David O.. 2002. “The Symbolic Racism 2000 Scale.” Political Psychology 23(2): 253–83.Google Scholar
Huddy, Leonie, and Feldman, Stanley. 2009. “On Assessing the Political Effects of Racial Prejudice.” Annual Review of Political Science 12: 423–47.Google Scholar
Hughes, Michael. 1997. “Symbolic Racism, Old-fashioned Racism, and Whites’ Opposition to Affirmative Action.” In Racial Attitudes in the 1990s: Continuity and Change, 45–75.Google Scholar
Huntington, Samuel P. 2004. Who are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity. Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Hyman, Herbert H., and Sheatsley, Paul B.. 1956. “Attitudes Toward Desegregation.” Scientific American 195(6): 35–9.Google Scholar
Imai, Kosuke, Keele, Luke, Tingley, Dustin, and Yamamoto, Teppei. 2010a. “Causal Mediation Analysis using R.” Advances in Social Science Research Using R. New York: Springer, 129–54.Google Scholar
Imai, Kosuke, Keele, Luke, and Yamamoto, Teppei. 2010b. “Identification, Inference and Sensitivity Analysis for Causal Mediation Effects.” Statistical Science 25(1): 51–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jamal, Amaney. 2005. “The Political Participation and Engagement of Muslim Americans: Mosque Involvement and Group Consciousness.” American Politics Research 33(4): 521–44.Google Scholar
Jardina, Ashley, and Piston, Spencer. In progress. “Dehumanization of Black People Motivates White Support for Punitive Criminal Justice Policies.” [working paper]Google Scholar
Kalkan, Kerem Ozan, Layman, Geoffrey C., and Uslaner, Eric M.. 2009. “Bands of Others? Attitudes Toward Muslims in Contemporary American Society.” The Journal of Politics 71(3): 847–62.Google Scholar
Kam, Cindy D., and Kinder, Donald R.. 2012. “Ethnocentrism as A Short-Term Force in the 2008 American Presidential Election.” American Journal of Political Science 56(2): 326–40.Google Scholar
Katz, I. 2014. Stigma: A Social Psychological Analysis. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.Google Scholar
Kazemipur, Abdolmohammad. 2014. The Muslim Question in Canada: A Story of Segmented Integration. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Khan, Mussarat, and Ecklund, Kathryn. 2012. “Attitudes Toward Muslim Americans Post-9/11.” Journal of Muslim Mental Health 7(1): 1–16.Google Scholar
Kim, Claire Jean. 1999. “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans.” Politics & Society 27(1): 105–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kinder, Donald R. 1986. “The Continuing American Dilemma: White Resistance to Racial Change 40 Years after Myrdal.” Journal of Social Issues 42(2): 151–71.Google Scholar
Kinder, Donald R., and Kam, Cindy D.. 2009. Us Versus Them: Ethnocentric Foundations of American Public Opinion. Chicago: Chicago University Press.Google Scholar
Kinder, Donald R., and Sanders, Lynn M.. 1996. Divided by Color: Racial Politics and Democratic Ideals. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Kinder, Donald R., and Sears, David O.. 1981. “Prejudice and Politics: Symbolic Racism versus Racial Threats to the Good Life.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 40(3): 414.Google Scholar
Kluegel, James R., and Smith, Eliot R.. 1986. Beliefs about Inequality: Americans’ Views of What is and What Ought to be. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
Kteily, Nour, and Bruneau, Emile. 2017. “Backlash: The Politics and Real-World Consequences of Minority Group Dehumanization.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 43(1): 87–104.Google Scholar
Kteily, Nour S., and Bruneau, Emile. 2017 “Darker Demons of Our Nature: The Need to (Re-) Focus Attention on Blatant Forms of Dehumanization.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 26(6): 487–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kteily, Nour, Bruneau, Emile, Waytz, Adam, and Cotterill, Sarah. 2015. “The Ascent of Man: Theoretical and Empirical Evidence for Blatant Dehumanization.” Journal of personality and social psychology 109(5): 901.Google Scholar
Kteily, Nour, Hodson, Gordon, and Bruneau, Emile. 2016. “They See Us as Less Than Human: Metadehumanization Predicts Intergroup Conflict via Reciprocal Dehumanization.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 110(3): 343.Google Scholar
Lajevardi, Nazita. 2017. A Comprehensive Study of Muslim American Discrimination by Legislators, the Media, and the Masses. Doctoral Dissertation. San Diego, CA: University of California, San Diego.Google Scholar
Layman, Geoffrey C., Carsey, Thomas M., and Horowitz, Juliana Menasce. 2006. “Party Polarization in American Politics: Characteristics, Causes, and Consequences.” Annual Review of Political Science 9: 83–110.Google Scholar
Levendusky, Matthew. 2009. The Partisan Sort: How Liberals Became Democrats and Conservatives Became Republicans. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Lewis, Bernard. 2002. What Went Wrong?: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lichtblau, Eric. 2016. “Hate Crimes against Muslims Most since post–9/11 Era.” The New York Times.Google Scholar
Lopez, Ian F. Haney. 2009. Racism on Trial: The Chicano Fight for Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
McConahay, John B. 1986. “Modern Racism, Ambivalence, and the Modern Racism Scale.” In Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism: Historical Trends and Contemporary Approaches, eds. Dovidio, John F., and Gaertner, Samuel L.. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, pp. 91–125.Google Scholar
McConahay, John B., and Hough, Joseph C.. 1976. “Symbolic Racism.” Journal of Social Issues 32(2): 23–45.Google Scholar
Mendelberg, Tali. 2001. The Race Card: Campaign Strategy, Implicit Messages, and the Norm of Equality. Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Morello, Carol. 2011. “Muslim Americans say life is more difficult since 9/11.” The Washington Post.Google Scholar
NCSL. 2017. “2017 Legislation Regarding the Application of Foreign Law by State Courts.” National Conference of State Legislatures. http://www.ncsl.org/research/civiland-criminal-justice/2017-legislation-regarding-the-application-of-foreign-law-by-statecourts.aspx.Google Scholar
Ngai, Mae M. 2014. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Omi, Michael, and Winant, Howard. 2014. Racial Formation in the United States. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Oskooii, Kassra A. R. 2016. “How Discrimination Impacts Sociopolitical Behavior: A Multidimensional Perspective.” Political Psychology 37(5): 613–40.Google Scholar
Oskooii, Kassra A. R., and Dana, Karam. 2017. “Muslims in Great Britain: The Impact of Mosque Attendance on Political Behaviour and Civic Engagement.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1330652Google Scholar
Panagopoulos, Costas. 2006. “The Polls-Trends: Arab and Muslim Americans and Islam in the Aftermath of 9/11.” International Journal of Public Opinion Quarterly 70(4): 608–24.Google Scholar
Pettigrew, Thomas F. 1982. Prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Pew. 2017. “U.S. Muslims Concerned About Their Place in Society, but Continue to Believe in the American Dream.” Pew Research Center. http://www.pewforum.org/2017/07/26/findings-from-pew-research-centers-2017-survey-of-us-muslims/ (accessed July 26, 2017).Google Scholar
Phalet, Karen, Baysu, Gülseli, and Verkuyten, Maykel. 2010. “Political Mobilization of Dutch Muslims: Religious Identity Salience, Goal Framing, and Normative Constraints.” Journal of Social Issues 66(4): 759–79.Google Scholar
Pipes, Daniel. 2003. Militant Islam Reaches America. New York: WW Norton & Company.Google Scholar
Plous, Scott, and Williams, Tyrone. 1995. “Racial Stereotypes from the Days of American Slavery: A Continuing Legacy.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 25(9): 795–817.Google Scholar
Putnam, Robert D., and Campbell, David E.. 2010. American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Rippy, Alyssa E, and Newman, Elana. 2006. “Perceived Religious Discrimination and its Relationship to Anxiety and Paranoia among Muslim Americans.” Journal of Muslim Mental Health 1(1): 5–20.Google Scholar
Said, Edward. 1979. Orientalism: Western Representations of the Orient. New York: Pantheon.Google Scholar
Said, Edward W. 2003. Orientalism (25th Anniversary Edition). Vintage Books.Google Scholar
Schaffner, Brian F. 2013. “Support at Any Distance? The Role of Location and Prejudice in Public Opposition to the “Ground Zero Mosque.” PS: Political Science & Politics 46(4): 753–9.Google Scholar
Schuman, Howard, Steeh, Charlotte, and Bobo, Lawrence. 1985. Racial Trends in America: Trends and Interpretations. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Sears, David O. 1988. Symbolic Racism. In Eliminating Racism: Perspectives in Social Psychology (A Series of Texts and Monographs). eds. Katz, P. A. and Taylor, D. A., Boston: Springer, pp. 53–84.Google Scholar
Sears, David O., and Henry, Patrick J.. 2003. “The Origins of Symbolic Racism.” Journal of personality and social psychology 85(2): 259–75.Google Scholar
Sears, David O., Henry, P. J., and Kosterman, Rick. 2000. “Egalitarian Values and Contemporary Racial Politics.” In Racialized Politics: The Debate about Racism in America, eds. Sears, David O., Sidanius, Jim, and Bobo, Lawrence. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 75–117.Google Scholar
Sears, David O., and Kinder, Donald R.. 1971. Racial Tension and Voting in Los Angeles, Vol. 156. Institute of Government and Public Affairs, University of California.Google Scholar
Selod, Saher. 2015. “Citizenship Denied: The Racialization of Muslim American Men and Women Post-9/11.” Critical Sociology 41(1): 77–95.Google Scholar
Shaheen, Jack G. 2003. “Reel bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 588(1): 171–93.Google Scholar
Sides, John, and Gross, Kimberly. 2013. “Stereotypes of Muslims and Support for the War on Terror.” The Journal of Politics 75(3): 583–98.Google Scholar
Smith, Rogers M. 1993. “Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal, and Hartz: The Multiple Traditions in America.” American political science review 87(3): 549–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steeh, Charlotte, and Schuman, Howard. 1992. “Young White Adults: Did Racial Attitudes Change in the 1980s?” American Journal of Sociology 98(2): 340–67.Google Scholar
Taylor, D. Garth, Sheatsley, Paul B., and Greeley, Andrew M.. 1978. “Attitudes Toward Racial Integration.” Scientific American 238(6): 42–9.Google Scholar
Tesler, Michael. 2012. “The Return of old-Fashioned Racism to White Americans’ Partisan Preferences in the early Obama era.” The Journal of Politics 75(1): 110–23.Google Scholar
Tesler, Michael. 2017. “President Obama and the Emergence of Islamophobia in Mass Partisan Preferences.” Working Paper.Google Scholar
Virtanen, Simo V, and Huddy, Leonie. 1998. “Old-fashioned Racism and new Forms of Racial Prejudice.” The Journal of Politics 60(2): 311–32.Google Scholar
Wajahat, Ali, Clifton, Eli, Duss, Matthew, Fang, Lee, Keyes, Scott, and Shakir, Faiz. 2011. “Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America.” Center for American Progress 14.Google Scholar
Wright, Richard. 1937. “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch.” In Race, Class, and Gender in the United States. ed. Rothensberg, P. S. (Sixth edition), New York: Worth Publishers, pp. 3–15.Google Scholar