The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) found that in the first half of 2021 over 500 reports of anti-Muslim incidents were recorded, as global Islamophobia incidents continue to increase.
There has been an increase in anti-Muslim reports – particularly attacks on mosques and assaults – with a sharp uptick in May and June when Israel launched its assault on Gaza and Palestinian protesters were attacked in East Jerusalem.
Four anti-mosque incidents were recorded in May alone and several physical assaults targeting Muslim women wearing hijabs.
In its Mid-Year Summary Report of Anti-Muslim Bias Incidents, CAIR provides examples of some of the most severe cases of abuse experienced by Muslims in the US and Canada.
These include “hate crimes, harassment, discrimination, hate speech, and anti-mosque incidents”, the organization said.
It also reported that public officials were “frequently using anti-Muslim hate speech through social media avenues to marginalize American Muslims”, while alleged cases of bullying of Muslim students were also recorded.
On 24 April a mosque in Minnesota was vandalized with messages including “death to Islam” and a Nazi swastika. Two weeks later there was an attempted stabbing at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Centre in Virginia.
