The Overlooked Discrimination: How Bias Against White Men Affects People of All Faiths and Backgrounds
By Bobby Darvish, Iranian-American Ex-Muslim, Former Vegan, Former Democrat, Former Socialist, Former CAIR-Columbus Executive Director, Former Muslim Forum of Utah President, Christian Conservative LDS
Introduction
In today’s political climate, discussions of diversity and inclusion have unfortunately become selective, focusing on some groups while disregarding others, especially white men. In the process, many seem to forget that "white" is not an identity limited to a single culture, nation, or belief system. Under the racial classification system used in America, individuals from West Asia, North Africa, and parts of Europe are all categorized as "white," regardless of their unique cultural, religious, or ethnic identities. As an Iranian-American ex-Muslim turned Christian, I have come to see firsthand how this broad classification misrepresents the complexities of the people it claims to include and further perpetuates discrimination against a diverse array of individuals—Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, heathens, and pagans alike.
Racial Classifications and Their Inaccuracies
In America, people from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as well as from Europe, are all classified as “white” by government institutions and in official documentation. This classification forces a range of diverse ethnicities into a narrow racial box that fails to account for differences in cultural heritage, historical context, and religious practices. In job applications, census data, and countless bureaucratic systems, individuals from Iran, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, and Greece are marked as “white” despite their distinct backgrounds and often different treatment by society. This framework ignores the varied and often marginalized experiences of these groups and unfairly subjects them to the broad stereotypes and prejudices associated with “whiteness.”
How Discrimination Against “White Men” Affects Diverse Faith Groups
Discrimination against white men has come to include individuals across religious and cultural lines, impacting not only Christian and Jewish individuals but also Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and those following other spiritual paths. From the outside, the stereotype of the “privileged white male” overlooks the fact that many within this group are immigrants, refugees, or members of communities with complex histories of marginalization.
For example, Iranian-Americans like myself, who are legally considered “white” under American racial classifications, frequently face negative biases due to our heritage and history. Middle Eastern Christians, Jews, and Muslims have all faced unique challenges that can’t simply be reduced to “white privilege.” Many Iranian Christians I know, for instance, have experienced discrimination both for their ethnicity and their faith, which goes unrecognized in the larger discourse around “whiteness.”
The reality is that discrimination against white men can and does extend to white Muslim immigrants from North Africa, Hindu immigrants from Iran, and Buddhist immigrants from Greece. Despite religious, political, and cultural differences, these individuals are all subject to a racial categorization that makes their unique experiences invisible.
Anti-“White” Bias in Hiring and Academia
In professional and academic spaces, the rhetoric around “diversity” often excludes or even discriminates against white men. The push for racial and ethnic diversity is essential for equality, but it frequently leaves out the diverse communities who fall under the “white” label, as well as individuals from Western Asia and North Africa. In hiring practices, individuals who check the “white” box are often automatically seen as lacking diversity, regardless of their true background or experience. This issue is particularly pronounced for men who are religiously observant or who are culturally distinct within the “white” category.
My own experience as a former Muslim who transitioned to Christianity demonstrates this dynamic. As an Iranian-American ex-Muslim, I am racially categorized as white, yet my heritage, cultural experience, and religious journey set me apart from the dominant cultural narrative that America associates with “whiteness.” In this sense, diversity initiatives that exclude white men are flawed not only because they overlook individual merit but because they fail to recognize the broad spectrum of identities and histories contained within the white demographic.
Faith-Based Discrimination Against “White” Men
People often forget that white men are not a monolith, particularly when it comes to faith. White men include Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Jews, and Muslims, as well as Hindus, Buddhists, heathens, and even pagans. Each of these groups experiences a form of discrimination that is both unique to their faith and compounded by the fact that they are racially classified as white. A Christian Armenian man and a Jewish Moroccan man might both check the “white” box, but each carries a cultural and religious identity that is marginalized within the American racial framework.
For example, Jewish men who are classified as “white” still face anti-Semitism, despite being lumped together under the umbrella of “white privilege.” Similarly, an Arab-American Muslim man who is legally classified as “white” may face Islamophobia, an issue rarely acknowledged within discussions about diversity and discrimination. The sweeping generalizations that classify all white men as privileged ignore the hardships that many within this group endure based on their religious beliefs, cultural heritage, or political views.
Conclusion
As an Iranian-American ex-Muslim and Christian conservative, I understand the complexities and contradictions of race-based categorization in America. Labeling individuals as “white” obscures the diversity of those who are marked by this term. It also allows the broader society to ignore the discrimination that white men of various faiths and backgrounds experience in hiring, academia, and social perception. True diversity means recognizing and including all backgrounds, including those who are inaccurately classified as “white” under America’s racial system. By expanding the conversation to acknowledge these overlooked groups, we can work toward a more inclusive and fair society for everyone, regardless of skin color, faith, or cultural heritage.
Citations
- United States Census Bureau. "Race and Ethnicity in the United States." https://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html
- Pew Research Center. “U.S. Muslims Concerned About Their Place in Society, but Continue to Believe in the American Dream.” https://www.pewresearch.org
- Office of Management and Budget. "Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity." https://www.whitehouse.gov
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