What this history reveals is that Muslims had difficulties becoming naturalized citizens because Islam was not associated with whiteness (Gualtieri 2009). For some Arabs, such as Syrians, their Christian identity and lighter skin tones afforded them certain key privileges that South Asians—who had darker complexions and were typically either Hindu or Muslim—were unable to access.

XREF: Connects to broader scholarship on racial formation and legal whiteness, such as Ian Haney López's work on whiteness as property in naturalization law.

Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, loc. 89