Hate crimes, discrimination against Muslims rise 9%: CAIR
Islamophobia is a deeply structural framework in White America, projected in numbers of hate crimes and biases.
-
Interfaith rally titled "Love is Stronger than Hate" at the Islamic Community Center in Phoenix, Arizona, United States June 1, 2015. The rally was in response to an anti-Muslim rally at the same location that happened earlier. (Reuters)
Compared to 2020, cases of discrimination and harassment against Muslims in America rose by 9%, according to CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Monday.
The human rights advocacy group revealed that it received 6,720 complaints in 2021 with issues ranging from bullying in schools, concerns regarding freedom of speech, hate crimes, physical assaults, or placement on the government's terror watchlist.
Researchers documented a 28% rise in hate and bias incidents, such as forcibly removing hijabs, harassment, vandalism, physical assault, and more.
Nihad Awad, the executive director of CAIR, said that "Islamophobia is structural and deep in our society." Speaking at a press conference on Monday, she said, "This suspicion is deep because it impacts the lives of millions of American Muslims. It has been escalating for the past three decades since CAIR started to document these cases."
Read more: US Supreme Court deals blow to Muslims who said FBI spied on them
On the other hand, the Department of Justice documented only 110 anti-Muslim crimes in its 2020 hate crimes report, which is down almost 40% from 2019.
Most Muslim hate crimes came from California, where 1,892 of the cases have been reported. Washington DC came in second, followed by Maryland and the vicinities of Virginia, where 1,408 cases took place, then New York, where there were reports of 259 bias complaints.
For instance, the Islamic Center of Olympia in Washington was targeted by an explosive device that was launched by a car passing by the center, driving at high speed.
Another case was last week when a man from Florida pleaded guilty to making threats, which were motivated by hate, against Democrat congresswoman Ilhan Omar in 2019.
Despite the high number count, CAIR stressed that their numbers are more than what was reported.
According to the report, 679 complaints were affiliated with law enforcement, whereas 553 complaints were related to the denial of public accommodations.
Read more: Muslim American sues DHS over 'intrusive' religious questioning
Furthermore, 2,823 complaints were related to immigration and travel, up 56% from the previous year.
The findings were attributed to the situation in Afghanistan, in addition to the increasing numbers of Americans traveling since the pandemic restrictions were eased.
"American Muslim communities have been subjected to mass surveillance, deportation, questioning, and other harassment by local and federal law enforcement with no accountability in sight," the report said, recommending that Biden and members of Congress condemn anti-Muslim bias and hate crimes, in addition to other measures.
Earlier this year, there were reports of a 339% spike in anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States in 2021 in comparison to 2020, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.
