As in the post-9/11 era, American Muslims are again being  unfairly targeted by surveillance , suspicion, and hate crimes - PewResearch Center

 

American Muslims Shouldn’t Pay the Price for Failed Policies
By Dr Salam Al-Marayati
MPAC President

In 2021, I wrote in  The Hill  about how the world was changed forever when the skies descended upon Manhattan and parts of the Pentagon were engulfed in flames on 9/11. I reflected on the fear that gripped our nation and the equally profound fear that gripped American Muslims who knew they would be unfairly blamed for the horrors carried out by false prophets. President George W. Bush  made assurances  that our government would prevent backlash and that America could hold onto its ideals of unity and justice. But looking back, the situation for American Muslims has not improved as we had hoped. If anything, Islamophobia that surged post-9/11 has only deepened and intensified, especially with the war in Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack.

Since that attack, Islamophobic rhetoric and hate crimes against Muslims in America have skyrocketed. Once again, many have conflated the actions of extremists with an entire religion. Social media platforms, news outlets, and even  members of Congress  have fueled this misguided fear. Unfortunately, it is Muslims in the US who bear the brunt of this hatred, just as we did after 9/11.

One of the most tragic incidents illustrating this backlash occurred on October 14th, when  Wadea Al-Fayoume , a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy, was brutally stabbed to death in Illinois by a landlord consumed by anti-Muslim hate. His mother was also attacked and survived, but her son did not. This horrific act, driven by Islamophobic rhetoric, is part of a larger trend in which Muslims are being scapegoated for the ongoing violence in the Middle East.

Since October 7th, mosques across the US have been  vandalized , Muslim students  harassed , and women wearing hijabs assaulted. Online platforms have been flooded with Islamophobic slurs, threats, and conspiracy theories dehumanizing Palestinians and Muslims alike. Once again, American Muslims are forced to defend their humanity and dignity in the face of unfounded fear and hatred.

This Islamophobic wave is fueled by media narratives that center Muslims in frames of terrorism and violence. Staunch pro-Israel groups want the US government to conduct surveillance of pro-Palestinian organizations and charge them with  “material support of a foreign terrorist organization.”  That is dangerous post-9/11 language coming back to haunt all of us as Americans in the form of this new McCarthyism.

The media’s coverage of the Gaza conflict often fails to distinguish between groups like Hamas and the American Muslim community. This allows for dangerous misconceptions to thrive, framing Muslims as perpetual  aggressors . But while Muslims continue to face the fallout of US policies abroad, there is a more urgent domestic threat.

Despite the persistent focus on Muslims, government reports highlight that white supremacists pose a far more dangerous threat to US national security than so-called Muslim extremists. The FBI and Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) have  consistently reported  that white supremacists are the leading domestic terror threat. CSIS found that from 2016 to 2021, right-wing extremists, including white supremacists, were responsible for 57% of domestic terror incidents. The FBI has emphasized that white supremacist violence is the most persistent and lethal threat in the country, far outpacing any danger posed by Muslim Americans.

Yet, as in the post-9/11 era, American Muslims are again being  unfairly targeted by surveillance , suspicion, and hate crimes. The policies and attitudes from that time have resurfaced in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict, putting Muslims in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Meanwhile, white supremacists—who have committed the majority of domestic terror attacks—remain an underestimated threat.  The FBI tells us in private meetings on hate crimes that the US is the major exporter of hate ideology because of white supremacists. Still, it does not issue any public statement or provide any congressional testimony to set the record straight.

The US government’s disproportionate focus on Muslims has resulted in policies that target Muslim communities while downplaying the dangers posed by far-right extremists. Islamophobia in the media, politics, and public discourse distracts from the real threats facing our nation, allowing white supremacist violence to flourish.

The October 7th attack in Israel may have reignited a cycle of Islamophobia, but American Muslims must not pay the price for failed policies. It is time to confront this truth, dispel harmful stereotypes, and ensure that American Muslims are not scapegoated yet again. - MPAC