The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) says it received 8,061 reports of anti-Muslim bias incidents last year, marking the highest number of complaints the organization has recorded in its 30-year history. Additionally, nearly half of the incidents were reported in the final three months of the year… or after October 7 when the Israel-Hamas war began.
Last year’s increase in reported incidents was a 56% jump over the previous year, according to a new report from CAIR that was released on Tuesday. The 56% increase in anti-Muslim incidents “surpassed the period following the implementation of President Trump’s Muslim Ban, which saw a 32% jump over the previous year,” the report claims.
There were 688 allegations of education discrimination, which made up 8.5% of the total number of claims reported to CAIR in 2023. With 607 complaints, hate crimes made up 7.5% of the total number of last year’s claims.
CAIR Report Alleges Schools, Universities ‘Suppressing Free Speech’
CAIR’s report also says employers, universities, and schools “were among the central actors suppressing free speech by those who sought to vocally oppose Israel’s genocidal onslaught on Gaza and call attention to Palestinian human rights.”
Among the several examples of discrimination highlighted in the report was an incident that involved a Georgia middle school teacher who reportedly threatened to cut off the head of a student who objected to him flying the Israeli flag in his classroom. (The teacher was fired for doing so and has been charged with making terroristic threats and cruelty to children.)
Interestingly, CAIR actually saw a significant decrease in complaints alleging anti-Muslim bias in 2022, with there being 23% less that year than in 2021.
