Since the Paris attacks, Muslims around the world have been in fear for retaliation for the acts of a few radical terrorists. In the United States, this fear grew exponentially after the unfortunate shooting in San Bernardino. After Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslims, the fear has grown even more.
According to Ibrahim Hooper, the National Communications Director for the Council on American Islamic Relations, he has “never seen it like this — not even after 9/11.” He reports that Muslims are living in “an atmosphere of hysteria and fear.”
After reading some of the stories below about incidents that occurred this last week, this fear is certainly reasonable.
Saturday, Dec. 5:
Seattle, WA., Muslim teenager died after being beaten and pushed from a rooftop at a local community college. His family believes, and investigators are looking into, his death being the result of a hate crime.
Sunday, Dec. 6:
Austin, Texas. Over the weekend, two Muslim women who walked into an area restaurant were “subjected to anti-Muslim hate speech.” No one in the restaurant spoke up on the women’s behalf. They immediately left because of the permeating hate.
San Francisco, Calif. A woman was caught on video shouting at a small group of Muslims who were in the middle of prayer at a local park. Her rant included telling the individuals, “Your mind has been taken over, brainwashed, and you have nothing but hate, nothing but hate.” In an interview a few days later, the woman stood by everything she said in the video.
Monday, Dec. 7:
Brooklyn, N.Y. Customer Robert Murino slapped and scuffled with an employee at a pizzeria and then proceeded to trash the restaurant after questioning the workers — who were from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh — about whether they were Muslim and worked for ISIS. Murino was arrested for his “anti-Muslim tirade.” A few days later, he was charged with committing a hate crime.
Tuesday, Dec. 8:
Washington, D.C. U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, D.- Ind., received a death threat in his office. Congressman Carson is “one of only two Muslim members of Congress.”
Queens, N.Y. Piro Kolvani of Florida, attacked a Muslim shop owner. While attacking him, Kolvani screamed “I kill Muslims!” Kolvani was arrested, but not with a hate crime. Charges may be upgraded to include the hate crime when Kolvani returns to court in January.
Washington, D.C. and Santa Clara, Calif.. In both cities, the offices of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) were evacuated after they received an envelope with suspicious white-powered substance inside. The envelope also included a letter with a message. In D.C., the message referred to “painful death,” whereas in Santa Clara the message stated “infidel“ Fortunately, the substance was benign. Threats to the organization have increased substantially since the Paris attacks.
Wednesday, Dec. 9:
Brooklyn, N.Y. At a Coney Island train yard, subway workers discovered tagging on a train seat that said, “Burn the Muslims, Heil Hitler!”
Plano, Texas. A Muslim family, who just moved to Plano, had rocks thrown at their house on Dec. 8 and again on Dec. 9. The family believes the incidents were driven by Islamophobia.
Thursday, Dec. 10:
East Tampa, Fla. Someone shot at a Muslim woman while she was driving away from her mosque. Fortunately, the woman was not injured. Unfortunately, no suspect was arrested.
New Tampa, Fla. Another Muslim woman reported that while she was driving away from her mosque, a man began throwing rocks, trying to run her off the road. Fortunately, he was not successful.
Friday, Dec. 11:
Coachella, Calif. Seventy-five miles from San Bernardino, a mosque was firebombed in what authorities are now calling a hate crime. Those responsible have not yet been found.
What’s terribly sad about all these stories is that they are only some of the stories from this week. The list above also does not include the countless incidents that have yet to be reported. Nor does it include prior incidents, such as the Nov. 19 attack on a Manhattan sixth grade girl who was beaten during recess by three boys grabbing at her hijab, while calling her ISIS. It also does not include the gun-toting, camouflaged group surrounding a mosque in Irving, Texas on Nov. 21.
Through all this madness, there are rays of hope such as the Anti-racists counter-protesters who drowned out an anti-Muslim rally at the White House, the Jewish Voice for Peace who will be taking to the streets across the U.S. to rally against Islamophobia, the Arizona woman’s open letter to Muslims pleading for them to remain strong, or the U.S. Army soldier who penned an open letter — addressed to Muslims, but meant for everyone — to remind them that our true enemy is radical terrorists. Let us all condemn the acts by anti-Muslim haters; instead let us all be like these rays of hope calling out for tolerance and peace.
Featured image by Lilian Wagdy under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.
