Anti-Muslim incidents and hate speech rising in wake of Israel-Hamas conflict

As tensions continue to rise over the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, more and more Islamophobic incidents are witnessed around the world.

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Fears of Islamophobic violence have spread around the world as Israel’s military assault on Gaza rages on. The assault on Gaza was triggered by an attack on Israel by Hamas in which more than 1,300 Israelis died and others were taken hostage. In response Israel has killed 2,329 Palestinians.

A French woman was arrested by police in the capital Paris this week after her neighbours reported her for using the traditional Islamic greeting with workers in their accommodation building. According to reports circulating on social media, the unnamed woman was taken into police custody after her neighbour filed a complaint when overhearing her say ‘assalam alaykum’ – ‘peace be upon you’ in Arabic – to some workers in their shared building.

A landlord in Chicago in the US state of Illinois repeatedly stabbed a 6-year-old boy to death and seriously wounded his mother in an attack motivated by their Islamic faith and the Israel-Palestine conflict.

After Muslims reported incidents of discrimination throughout the US this week, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the US’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, said on X that the Islamophobic rhetoric being spread by politicians, media outlets, and social media platforms must stop.

CAIR’s Maryland office said it’s getting reports of Muslim and Arab students being harassed and intimidated in public high schools and on college campuses.
Civil rights advocates warn that FBI targets Muslims in wake of Hamas-Israel conflict.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out, reports of acts of Islamophobia have been growing in some Latin American countries, particularly Brazil. Muslims — especially women wearing a hijab — have been insulted and attacked on the streets, according to Arab News.

In addition to disinformation, hateful and violent content and cyber harassment have been rampant on social media platforms. Some organizations have identified thousands of cases of Islamophobic hate speech, especially on X.