CAIR Releases Report of FBI Anti-Muslim Abuse

CAIR Releases Report of FBI Anti-Muslim Abuse

CAIR Releases Report of FBI Anti-Muslim Abuse
By Dane Hillard [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Physical violence and property damage occupies the top of the list

A first quarter report of 2018 relating to anti-Muslim incidents happening all over the United States has been published by Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).[/tweetit] CAIR is America's most significant advocacy and civil rights organization catering to Muslims. It publishes detailed reports every quarter.

CAIR Releases Report of FBI Anti-Muslim Abuse[/tweetthis]

The first quarter report of 2018 records hate crimes which involve physical violence. Property damage comes second in frequency of abuse. Employment cases come third in frequency of anti-Muslim incidents involving bias. It should be noted that bias in such cases is described as one where religious discrimination can be identified. Hate crimes are defined as criminal offenses committed against property or persons. They also involve incidents which can be charged as per the relevant federal or the state statute.

The 2018 first quarterly report showed that cases linked to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) constitute the lion's share of anti-Muslim occurrences in the beginning quarter of 2018. These incidents made up a whopping 31 percent of all reports concerning bias from the starting month of January up to the ending month of March.

CAIR Releases Report of FBI Anti-Muslim Abuse
CAIR

Gadeir Abbas, the Senior Litigation Attorney of CAIR, said his organization frequently receives complaints concerning FBI abuses. The list includes invasive questioning, particularly on the zone of an individual's religious practices and beliefs. FBI personnel accost Muslims in Muslim communities and also inside and in the vicinity of mosques. Many Muslims have reported the FBI has tried to recruit them into spying for their own community. The government has also surreptitiously set up a terror watchlist. Border searches and random investigations were found to be based on religious identity and ethnicity. A person's nationality and the incidence of traveling outside the United States for visiting family members were also grounds for FBI interrogation.

Zainab Arain, responsible for coordinating the Research and Advocacy Department in CAIR, pointed out that the numbers are a continuation of the painful trend seen in 2017 of government agencies being the instigator of at least one-third of all the anti-Muslim incidents happening all over the United States.

Most anti-Muslim incidents were triggered by the national origin or ethnicity of the victim. These made up 33 percent of all cases. Perceptions of being a Muslim accounted for 23 percent of total cases. Headscarfs won by Muslim women-initiated 16 percent of all incidents.

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