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September 11, 2001, terror attacks was the inflection point for Muslim-Americans, butpost-9/11 ramifications of Islamophobia still corrupts the fabric of Americansociety more than two decades later.
According to FBI statistics, hate crimes against Muslims skyrocketedimmediately after 9/11, rising 1,617% from 2000 to 2001, marking some of thehighest numbers of Islamophobic hate crimes ever seen in America. The numberof assaults rose significantly between 2015 and 2016, easily surpassing theprevious high.
“Muslims continue to be the target of hate, bullying, and discrimination as aresult of the stereotypes that were perpetuated by Islamophobes and the media inthe years following the 9/11 attacks,” said Hussam Ayloush, executive director ofthe 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 inthe United States by various organizations between 2008 and 2013, according toa report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and theUniversity of California, Berkeley.
It identifies 74 groups , including feminist, Christian, Zionist and prominent newsorganizations, which either funded or encourage Islamophobia.
Another similar report mapping the Islamophobia industry between 2017 and2019 by CAIR unearth a huge sum of $105 million funneled to 35 hate andIslamophobic 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 ‘epidemicproportions.’
Islamophobia has posed two main dangers: a rise in hate crimes and anti-Islamiclegislation. According to Al Jazeera, Since 2013, the country has seen a rise inthe number of bills or amendments – about 81 – designed to “vilify Islamicreligious practices”, 80 of which were introduced to state legislatures byRepublicans.
A state lawmaker in Oklahoma refused to meet with Muslim constituents unlessthey replied to a questionnaire asking if they beat their wives. A Nebraska statesenator suggested that any Muslim wanting to enter the United States be forced toeat pork first, reported in Buzzfeed.
CAIR reported a 9% increase in the number of civil rights complaints it receivedfrom Muslims in the United States since 2020.
“CAIR received a total of 6,720 complaints nationwide involving a range ofissues including immigration and travel, discrimination, law enforcement andgovernment overreach, hate and bias incidents, incarceree rights, schoolincidents, and anti-BDS/free speech,” according to its annual report .
What is missing from the discourse is Muslims despite the victim of hate andprejudice, helped made America safer. The Muslim-American community hashelped 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 toauthorities, according to a study by Muslim Public Affair Council.
Finally international community is waking up from its slumber towards thedanger posed by the influx of Islamophobia and constant hate-mongering. TheUnited Nations last year declared March 15 as the International Day to CombatIslamophobia presented by Pakistan on behalf of Organization of Islamiccooperation (OIC). This date also marks four years since the horrific terroristattacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. On that day, 51 Muslimworshipers in two mosques died while another 40 suffered injuries.
Islamophobia leads to the dehumanization of Muslim which not only pit peopleagainst Muslim but desensitize state legislation towards Muslims plight.