Khaberni - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has noted a huge increase in attacks on mosques and Islamic centers in the United States over the past year, reminiscent of what happened to Muslims after the events of September 11, 2001.
Corey Saylor, Director of Research and Advocacy at "CAIR", said in an interview with Al Jazeera, that the period from the beginning of May to the end of July saw a 183% increase in attacks on mosques and Islamic centers in the United States, compared to the same period last year.
Saylor added: "Among the most notable incidents we recorded was the terrorist attack on the Islamic Center in San Diego, California, where three men sacrificed their lives defending the facility against individuals who wanted to kill the students in their school."
Regarding the types of attacks documented by the organization, Saylor said: "We witnessed threats of violence, intimidating phone calls, acts of vandalism, and attempts to stop the expansion of mosques through zoning procedures. We document these incidents relying on publicly available information so that others can verify our findings."
The researcher indicated that there is a similar number of incidents that do not fall within the scope of public information, because the people affected by them do not want to report them.
Who is Responsible for the Wave of Hatred?
Saylor blamed the increase in hatred towards Muslims on certain political figures, saying: "Influential political figures are trying to convince Americans that freedom comes with conditions, and these conditions are that those government officials must agree with your way of thinking and your appearance and the way you practice your religion, and the places you come from, or else you don't belong to this society."
Saylor also blamed American businessman Elon Musk, considering him partly responsible for the escalation of hatred towards Muslims, and explained that Musk: "has turned the X platform into a breeding ground for bigotry to a large extent, as some of his posts clearly express views that do not align with the idea that all Americans can differ in their looks, ideas, and worship."
Worst Wave of Hatred in Three Decades
Saylor described the wave of hatred towards Muslims as the worst since they began documenting hate cases in 1995.
He said: "The extremism against Muslims in the United States today is similar to the period following the events of September 11, 2001. We receive a huge number of complaints related to acts of discrimination, to the extent that it becomes impossible to keep up with all of them, the numbers last year were the highest in 30 years."
Corey Saylor gave a message to Muslims in the United States, saying: "Muslims should first and foremost think about how to protect themselves in their places of worship, as it is very common in the United States for religious communities to have their own security personnel, which makes sense because they are quicker to respond than the police."
The researcher at "CAIR" concluded his talk by saying: "You should turn to the courts, raise your voices, and be part of the efforts to counter this attempt to impose a certain viewpoint on the American people. It is very important not to do what the current administration and its supporters ask of us, they want us to be silent and go along with their program and that simply will not happen."
