2024-01-29T13:51:52+00:00
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/ The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) confirmed on Monday that complaints of discrimination and hatred against Muslims and Palestinians in the United States have increased by about 180% since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza following Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7 of last year.
Hamas attacks, classified as a terrorist organization in the United States, the European Union and other countries, have killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, including women and children, according to Israel.
Islamophobia
The term Islamophobia is used to refer to the feelings of fear that many people in the West have of Islam or Muslims. This term has spread with the spread of Islamic terrorism and the widespread migration of millions of Muslims to the West, and the refusal of some of them to integrate into their new societies.
In response, Israel responded with heavy bombing and ground operations in the Palestinian enclave, killing more than 26,000 people, most of them women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Anti-Palestinian bias
Reuters reported that “rights advocates” have noted a rise in Islamophobia and bias against Palestinians in the United States and elsewhere since the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
Among the incidents that occurred in the United States and raised concerns were the shooting last November in the state of Vermont of three students of Palestinian origin, and the stabbing to death of a 6-year-old American child of Palestinian origin in the state of Illinois last October.
In numbers
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said it received 3,578 complaints in the last three months of 2023, amid what it described as a “continuing wave of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hatred.”
This figure represents a 178% increase compared to the number of complaints in the same period the previous year.
The council stated that “complaints of discrimination in employment topped the list with 662 cases, while 472 complaints were about hate crimes and incidents, and the council received 448 complaints of discrimination in education.”
Earlier this January, the Anti-Defamation League said that “the three months following October 7 saw a 360% increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States compared to the previous year.”
US security directives
The US government recently issued security directives related to communities founded on religious beliefs, at a time when anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have increased since Hamas’s attack on Israel.
The US Justice Department is monitoring growing threats against Jews and Muslims as the crisis continues, with Democratic President Joe Biden condemning anti-Semitism and “Islamophobia.”