Hate Crimes Against Muslims Spike Across the United States
In recent months, there has been very harsh language directed at Muslims in the United States. Donald Trump has made a variety of policy proposals, including the “extreme vetting” of Muslims who want to enter the United States. It may well be that the harsh national discussion is having consequences. In Special Status Report: Hate Crime in the United States: 20 State Compilation of Official Data, the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, California State University, San Bernardino (Sept. 2016) finds that
“Hate crimes against American Muslims have soared to their highest levels since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to data compiled by researchers, an increase apparently fueled by terrorist attacks in the United States and by divisive language on the campaign trail.
The trend has alarmed hate crime scholars and law-enforcement officials, who have documented hundreds of attacks — including arsons at mosques, assaults, shootings and threats of violence — … since the beginning of 2015.
While the most current hate crime statistics from the F.B.I. are not expected until November, new data from researchers at California State University, San Bernardino found that hate crimes against American Muslims were up 78% over the course of 2015. Attacks on those perceived as Arabs rose even more sharply.”
New York Times, Sep. 17, 2016.
KJ