US: Rights Group Reports 'Unprecedented' Upswing in Anti-Muslim Bias Incidents
The report, released on Wednesday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, says that it received 1,283 requests for help and reports of bias from Oct. 7 to Nov. 4, a 216% increase from the monthly average of 406 in 2022.
The report says that the incidents involved Americans of various ages and backgrounds, including students, workers, protesters and doctors, as well as mosques across the country.
CAIR's research and advocacy director, Corey Saylor, said in a statement that the surge in bigotry was fueled by the "Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian rhetoric" that was used to justify the violence in Gaza and silence the supporters of Palestinian human rights in the US, CBS News reported.
He said that American Muslims were facing the largest wave of Islamophobic bias since then-candidate Donald Trump announced his Muslim Ban proposal in December 2015.
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The report also cites publicly reported incidents of bias targeting Muslim or Palestinian communities, such as the stabbing death of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume, a Palestinian-American boy from Chicago, on Oct. 15, in an alleged hate crime. His mother was also injured in the attack by their landlord. Other incidents include attempted murders, violent threats, vehicle attacks and gun violence against pro-Palestinian protesters.
Saylor called on President Biden to demand a cease-fire in Gaza and said that the violence overseas was contributing to unrest at home and required his intervention.
Source: Agencies
