2017 could be the worst year for American-Muslims: report

Number of anti-Muslim hate crimes rose 91 per cent in first half 2017 compared to same period in 2016

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) recently reported that the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the US rose 91 per cent in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2016.

A report published by CAIR states that the number of hate crimes spiked from the corresponding period of 2016, which was the worst year for anti-Muslim incidents since the civil rights organisation began its current documenting system in 2013.



The number of bias incidents in the first half of 2017 also rose by 24 per cent on year.

"The presidential election campaign and the [Donald] Trump administration have tapped into a seam of bigotry and hate that has resulted in the targeting of American Muslims and other minority groups," said Zainab Arain, the coordinator of CAIR's Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia, reports The Daily Sabah.

CAIR reports that the most frequent type of incidents, documented by CAIR in the second quarter of 2017 involved harassment, defined as a non-violent or non-threatening incidents. The second most common type of bias incidents were hate crimes and involved physical violence or property damage.

"Twenty per cent of incidents occurred because of an individual being perceived as Muslim. A Muslim woman's headscarf was a trigger in 15 per cent of incidents," the report added.

California University researchers released a similar report in which they found 196 incidents of hate crimes or discrimination against Muslims in 2015, a 78 per cent increase from 2014.



FBI data showed 257 anti-Muslim related hate crimes in 2015, a 67 per cent rise from 2014. Human Rights Watch and the Washington Post have reported.

This issue stems from two basic problems, first and foremost it is believed that many of the crimes go unreported, while other crimes are actually hoaxes with dubious political motivations.