September 11, 2001, terror attacks was the inflection point for Muslim-Americans, but
post-9/11 ramifications of Islamophobia still corrupts the fabric of American
society more than two decades later.
According to FBI statistics, hate crimes against Muslims skyrocketed
immediately after 9/11, rising 1,617% from 2000 to 2001, marking some of the
highest numbers of Islamophobic hate crimes ever seen in America. The number
of assaults rose significantly between 2015 and 2016, easily surpassing the
previous high.
“Muslims continue to be the target of hate, bullying, and discrimination as a
result of the stereotypes that were perpetuated by Islamophobes and the media in
the years following the 9/11 attacks,” said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of
the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
News media outlets and radical organization played a key role in inciting hatred.
More than $200m was spent towards promoting “fear and hatred” of Muslims in
the United States by various organizations between 2008 and 2013, according to
a report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the
University of California, Berkeley.
It identifies 74 groups , including feminist, Christian, Zionist and prominent news
organizations, which either funded or encourage Islamophobia.
Another similar report mapping the Islamophobia industry between 2017 and
2019 by CAIR unearth a huge sum of $105 million funneled to 35 hate and
Islamophobic groups, down from 50 few years ago.
A 2021 report on freedom of religion by United Nation found that suspicion,
discrimination and outright hatred towards Muslims has risen to ‘epidemic
proportions.’
Islamophobia has posed two main dangers: a rise in hate crimes and anti-Islamic
legislation. According to Al Jazeera, Since 2013, the country has seen a rise in
the number of bills or amendments – about 81 – designed to “vilify Islamic
religious practices”, 80 of which were introduced to state legislatures by
Republicans.
A state lawmaker in Oklahoma refused to meet with Muslim constituents unless
they replied to a questionnaire asking if they beat their wives. A Nebraska state
senator suggested that any Muslim wanting to enter the United States be forced to
eat pork first, reported in Buzzfeed.
CAIR reported a 9% increase in the number of civil rights complaints it received
from Muslims in the United States since 2020.
“CAIR received a total of 6,720 complaints nationwide involving a range of
issues including immigration and travel, discrimination, law enforcement and
government overreach, hate and bias incidents, incarceree rights, school
incidents, and anti-BDS/free speech,” according to its annual report .
What is missing from the discourse is Muslims despite the victim of hate and
prejudice, helped made America safer. The Muslim-American community has
helped security and law enforcement officials prevent nearly two of every five al-
Qaeda terrorist plots threatening the United States and the tips from the Muslim-
American community are the largest single source of initial information to
authorities, according to a study by Muslim Public Affair Council.
Finally international community is waking up from its slumber towards the
danger posed by the influx of Islamophobia and constant hate-mongering. The
United Nations last year declared March 15 as the International Day to Combat
Islamophobia presented by Pakistan on behalf of Organization of Islamic
cooperation (OIC). This date also marks four years since the horrific terrorist
attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. On that day, 51 Muslim
worshipers in two mosques died while another 40 suffered injuries.
Islamophobia leads to the dehumanization of Muslim which not only pit people
against Muslim but desensitize state legislation towards Muslims plight.
