Unmasking Islamophobia: Anti-Muslim Hostility and/as White Supremacy

Abstract

AbstractThis article considers the twenty-first century enforcement of Georgia’s Anti-Masking Act as a site of confluence for American white supremacy and American anti-Muslim hostility. Extending Judith Weisenfeld’s theory of religio-raciality, I argue that contemporary American white supremacy might best be understood as a religio-racial force, evidenced in part through anastrophic law enforcement. As seen in the application of Georgia’s Anti-Masking Act, laws initially instituted to deter religio-racial terror in the public square now also work to publicly discipline non-white, non-Christian bodies as well as any who would overtly challenge the supremacy of American whiteness. This case study demonstrates the importance of understanding anti-Muslim hostility as informed but not exhausted by racism.