Council on American-Islamic Relations Reports Highest Number of Anti-Muslim Bias Incidents in 28 Years

WASHINGTON D.C. (trfnews.i234.me) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reported a record high number of anti-Muslim bias incidents last year, with 8,061 complaints received. This marks the highest number of such cases since CAIR began tracking hate crimes in 1994. The data was released as part of their annual civil rights report which documents incidents reported to CAIR and provides an analysis on the state of American Muslim civil rights.

The previous record for anti-Muslim bias complaints was set in 2022, with a total of 5,156 cases. However, this number saw a significant drop compared to last year’s report which recorded 8,061 incidents – an increase of 56%. The only other dip in reported anti-Muslim bias complaints was seen in 2021 when the figure dropped to 6,720 cases.

CAIR attributes this surge primarily to the Israel-Hamas conflict that began in October 2023. Over 44% of all incidents were reported during the last three months of the year. The group records complaints using 20 different categories and noted that immigration and asylum cases had the highest number of reports (1,637), followed by employment discrimination with 1,201 reports, and education-related issues excluding bullying or sports incidents, which saw 688 complaints.

However, CAIR also highlighted other forms of reported bias such as financial institution discrimination, court-appointed attorney social media posts containing Islamophobic or racist content, and law enforcement targeting individuals based on their religion, origin, or language spoken. The full breakdown provided by the organization shows that each category had at least some complaints filed under it last year.

The report’s authors emphasized that these findings reflect the experiences of Muslims in America who have faced increased Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian rhetoric across various sectors, particularly during the Israel-Hamas conflict. They urged public officials, corporate leaders, and educational institutions to give equal attention to Palestinian suffering when commenting on events in Israel and Palestine.

Furthermore, CAIR recommended enhancing existing anti-doxxing laws that limit the dissemination of personally identifying information online. This comes after students and employees expressing support for Palestinians were subjected to intimidation tactics involving such personal data sharing on the internet in recent months.