The Race-Religion Constellation: A European Contribution to the Critical Philosophy of Race

Abstract

This article traces the hidden race-religion constellation in Europe. The term “race-religion constellation” refers to the connection or co-constitution of the categories of race and “religion.” Specifically, the term “race-religion constellation” is used to refer to the practice of classifying people into races according to categories we now associate with the term “religion.” This calls for a consideration of European history and forms of racism in Europe, such as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. This article aims to provide an alternative non-secularized or biological account of the origins of the socially constructed category of race in Europe. The alternative story begins in the sixteenth century, when the category of “religion” as a means for classifying peoples was both constructed and politicized. In tracing this alternative story, this article seeks to outline a framework for a critical philosophy of race focused on a European religion line that intersects with Du Bois's color line.

Researching race, racialisation, and racism in critical terrorism studies: clarifying conceptual ambiguities

“…The first of these similarities is scholars' understanding of race as a social construct. Races do not refer to actual categories of human beings, as was theorised from the period of colonialisation up until the period of the second World War (Fredrickson 2002;Garner 2010;Topolski 2018). Rather, they refer to the construction of such categories.…”

“…For example, religious and cultural markers -especially markers of Islam and Judaism -have played a leading role in racial categories within Europe and the Americas, as is argued by both scholars working with/on theories of race (e.g. Anidjar 2007;Balibar and Wallerstein 1991;Goldberg 2006;Meer 2013;Topolski 2018) and CTS authors (e.g. Bayoumi 2006;Fekete 2004;Kundnani 2014;Rana 2017;Smith 2018Smith , 2016.…”

“…In such contexts, scholars should reflect on which term (rather than which concept, as the attributes and referents are in this case the same) is most beneficial to further their political goals. As mentioned, whereas the term race is more readily associated with broader historical and political contexts (Topolski 2018), Islamophobia is closely linked to contemporary discussions regarding discrimination of Muslims, especially after 9/11 (Jackson et al 2018).…”

“…This link has been examined and argued for significantly more by authors publishing in other fields and journals, such as Patterns of Prejudice and Ethnic and Racial Studies (e.g. Anidjar 2007;Balibar 2004;Essed and Goldberg 2002;Goldberg 2006;Lauwers 2019;Meer 2013;Meer and Modood 2009;Topolski 2018;Modood 1992). These authors applaud the use of the concept of race as an analytical tool.…”

The global order of Muslim surveillance and its thought architecture

“…Even so, from the publication of the landmark 1997 Runnymede Trust report, Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All, which introduced the term into global civil society (Hajjat and Mohammed 2013, 82-83), analyses of anti-Muslim prejudice in the West have commonly pointed to its historical origins and continuities (Meer 2014a, 502-503). And in recent years, a growing body of work has emerged on the genealogies of Western, particularly European, notions of Islam and Muslims (Anidjar 2003(Anidjar , 2008Kalmar 2012;Hajjat and Mohammed 2013;Meer 2014b;Renton and Gidley 2017;Topolski 2018). This research into genealogies is indebted to Edward Said's seminal Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient (1978).…”