CAIR Decries Trump Administration's 'Deafening Silence' on Series of Anti-Muslim Incidents Nationwide

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today decried what it termed the Trump administration's "deafening silence" on a growing number of anti-Muslim incidents nationwide in recent days.

"Every day, we receive more reports of hate incidents, threats and violence targeting American Muslims, Islamic institutions and even those perceived to be Muslim, yet we hear only a deafening silence from the Trump administration," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "President Trump must speak out against the growing Islamophobia in our nation for which he bears substantial blame."

He added that the president's silence on the growing number of anti-Muslim incidents comes after Trump appointed and nominated a number of notorious Islamophobes to his administration.

SEE: CAIR Welcomes Resignation of Islamophobic Trump Adviser Michael Flynn 
http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14108-cair-welcomes-resignation-of-islamophobic-trump-adviser-michael-flynn.html 

CAIR Calls on GOP to Demand Dismissal of Trump Adviser Steve Bannon After Revelation of His Anti-Muslim Film Proposal 
http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14088-cair-calls-on-gop-to-demand-dismissal-of-trump-adviser-steve-bannon-after-revelation-of-his-anti-muslim-film-proposal.html  

CAIR Calls on President Trump to Fire Adviser Sebastian Gorka Over Links to 'Nazi-Allied' Group 
http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14197-cair-calls-on-president-trump-to-fire-adviser-sebastian-gorka-over-links-to-nazi-allied-group.html  

Administration officials recently hosted an anti-Muslim hate group leader at the White House.

SEE: CAIR Calls on White House to Cancel Meeting with Anti-Muslim Hate Group Leader
http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14207-cair-calls-on-white-house-to-cancel-meeting-with-anti-muslim-hate-group-leader-if-supportlinebreaknewline.html

Awad noted that the unprecedented spike in anti-Muslim incidents nationwide began during the recent presidential campaign and accelerated following the November 8 election. It has grown more intense in recent weeks.

Just this week, CAIR has called for hate crime investigations or reported on harassment and threats targeting Muslim women and children in Minnesota, California, North Carolina, and New York.

Video: CAIR-Minnesota Calls for Hate Crime Probe After Muslim Woman is Followed, Threatened 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFJ7OkWsHoY

Video: CAIR Says Threat to Shoot California Muslim Mother and Child is Part of Spike in Islamophobia  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLZudVABVEA

Video: CAIR Calls for Hate Crime Probe of Threat to Shoot North Carolina Muslim Woman  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6FKsdQZDZQ

Video: CAIR-MN Seeks Criminal Charges for Harassment Targeting Muslim Woman Shopper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCTghyTxInc

CAIR also called for similar investigations of possible bias motives for 34 incidents targeting mosques in Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky, Georgia, Arizona, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Texas, and a number of other states so far this year. By comparison, in the January-March period in 2016, CAIR recorded 19 such incidents.

CAIR: This Map Shows How Many Mosques Have Been Targeted Just This Year (CNN)
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/20/us/mosques-targeted-2017-trnd/index.html

Video: FBI Meets with Mosque Targeted by Anti-Islam Letter After CAIR Calls for Hate Crime Probe  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3v9ELdfZiE

CAIR Welcomes Arrest in Arson Attack on Texas Mosque
http://www.cair.com/press-center/14179-cair-welcomes-arrest-in-arson-attack-on-texas-mosque.html

Video: CAIR Calls for Hate Crime Probe of Quran Desecration at Tucson Mosque 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyTKAYx3Ha8 

Video: CAIR Offers Reward for Info on Florida Mosque Arson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2iuQIzQ8QA

Video: CAIR-Kentucky Seeks Hate Crime Probe of Bomb Threat Targeting Mosque 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhTlkbL5SSA 

Video: CAIR-Cincinnati Asks FBI to Probe Bomb Threat Targeting Mosque 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkI97uCCBXI

Video: CAIR Seeks Hate Crime Probe of Threat Targeting New Jersey Mosque 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGwgtv67mm0 

Video: CAIR-Georgia Calls for Stepped-Up Security at Mosques Following Threats  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C11HngAiOI 

CAIR Seeks Hate Crime Probe of Threatening Letter Sent to Virginia Mosque 
http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14160-cair-seeks-hate-crime-probe-of-threatening-letter-sent-to-virginia-mosque.html 

CAIR-Sacramento Welcomes Arrest in Davis Islamic Center Hate Vandalism Case 
http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14116-cair-sacramento-welcomes-arrest-in-davis-islamic-center-hate-vandalism-case.html 

CAIR Calls for Hate Crime Probe of Anti-Muslim Signs Posted on Louisiana Mosque by White Supremacist Group 
http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14115-cair-calls-for-hate-crime-probe-of-anti-muslim-signs-posted-on-louisiana-mosque-by-white-supremacist-group.html 

In a soon-to-be-published report, CAIR will detail a more than 50 percent increase in anti-Muslim bias incidents in 2016 over 2015. That figure is accompanied by a more than 40 percent increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes in the same period.

Even those who are perceived to be Muslim have been targeted by violence. In February, CAIR called for state and federal hate crime charges to be brought against a man who allegedly shot two men – one of whom died – that he mistakenly thought were "Middle Eastern."

SEE: CAIR-Kansas Seeks State, Federal Hate Crime Charges for Shooting of 'Middle Eastern' Men  
http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14141-cair-kansas-seeks-state-federal-hate-crime-charges-for-shooting-of-middle-eastern-men.html

CAIR has often expressed the Muslim community's concerns about the Trump administration's involvement in the promotion and exploitation of Islamophobia.

CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: Islamophobia and the Trump Team  
http://islamophobia.org/15-reports/181-islamophobia-and-the-trump-transition-team.html

Earlier this week, CAIR called on White House officials to cancel a meeting with anti-Muslim hate group ACT for America leader Brigitte Gabriel. That meeting went ahead as scheduled.

CAIR: Who is the Real Brigitte Gabriel? 
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/03/23/who-real-brigitte-gabriel

ACT for America has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The SPLC has named "Brigitte Gabriel" as a member of the nation's "Anti-Muslim Inner Circle."

CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: Brigitte Gabriel (ACT for America)  
http://www.islamophobia.org/islamophobic-individuals/brigitte-gabriel/65-brigitte-gabriel-aka-hanah-kahwagi-tudor.html

CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: ACT for America  
http://www.islamophobia.org/islamophobic-orgs/act-for-america.html

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

La misión de CAIR es mejorar la comprensión del Islam, fomentar el diálogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprensión mutua.

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CONTACT: CAIR Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Related Links

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