28 April 2022; MEMO: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) report shows that there has been a 9 per cent increase in discrimination against Muslims in the US
During a press conference of a newly published report "Still Suspect: The Impact of Structural Islamophobia", CAIR Director, Nihad Awad, said Islamophobia is structural and deep in the US.
According to the report, CAIR received 6,720 complaints nationwide last year, involving a range of issues including immigration, travel discrimination, law enforcement and government over-reach, hate and bias incidents, custody rights, school incidents and free speech incidents.
"Islamophobia has become mainstream in America. It made its way into the government institutions and public sphere through laws, policies, political rhetoric and other manifestations," Awad said.
Hate speech and intolerance against Muslims increased during the Trump administration, the Pew Research Centre reports.
In 2016, Trump signed an executive order that barred immigrants from several Muslim-majority countries, in a move that critics say enshrined his anti-Muslim stance into law. In 2021, the Biden administration ended the ban.
