Hate crimes against Muslims up 67 per cent in 2015: FBI
atlanta — Reported hate crimes against Muslims rose in 2015 to their highest number since the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to FBI statistics released.
Overall, the number of hate crimes reported by law enforcement agencies to the FBI increased 6.7 per cent, from 5,479 incidents in 2014 to 5,850 last year. The total is far lower than the numbers seen in the early 2000s, but the report comes at a time of heightened tensions following last week’s presidential election.
The most recent reporting covers calendar year 2015, which included the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, as well as Republican Donald Trump’s call for a ban on all Muslims entering the US. All of those, however, did not occur until the final two months of the year.
It’s not yet known whether Trump plans to implement such a ban now that he has won the presidency. Critics say his pledge has contributed to anti-Muslim sentiment.
“We’ve seen how words from public figures like Donald Trump translate into violence,” said Mark Potok with the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups in the US.
Last year, there were 257 reported incidents of anti-Muslim bias compared to 154 in 2014. The number of reported hate crimes against Muslims peaked at 481 in 2001.
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he was not surprised to see the large increase in 2015 and said he expects the trend to continue.
“We saw a spike in anti-Muslim incidents nationwide beginning toward the end of 2015. That spike has continued until today and even accelerated after the election of President-elect Trump,” Hooper said.
There have been reports around the country since the November 8 election of racist and anti-religious incidents.
Two students at a vocational school in York County, Pennsylvania, held a Donald Trump sign in a hallway as someone shouted “white power,” an incident captured on video and widely shared on Facebook.
In Silver Spring, Maryland, a banner advertising a Spanish-language service at an Episcopal church was slashed and the words “Trump nation. Whites only” were written on the back.
Authorities on two California State University campuses, in San Diego and San Jose, were investigating reports that two women wearing headscarves were attacked. At San Diego State University, authorities said a Muslim woman had her car keys and vehicle stolen by two men who targeted her while she wore a hijab and made comments about Donald Trump’s election.
At the same time, a videotaped assault in Chicago showed black men beating a white man as onlookers screamed, “You voted Trump!”
On Sunday, Trump said he had not heard reports that some of his supporters might be harassing minorities.
“I am so saddened to hear that,” Trump said during an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes.” “And I say, stop it. If it, if it helps, I will say this and I will say right to the cameras: Stop it.”
According to the FBI report, the majority of hate crimes were motivated by bias against race or ethnicity. Of the 4,216 victims of a hate crime motivated by race or ethnicity, 52 per cent were black, 18.7 per cent were white and 9.3 per cent were Hispanic or Latino. Crimes against Jews increased about 9 per cent, while bias incidents involving sexual orientation were up 3.5 per cent.
Civil rights groups have expressed concern that a Trump administration could radically reshape the US. Department of Justice, particularly when it comes to policing but also in terms of the priority placed on hate crimes.