CAIR urges political and religious leaders to repudiate Islamophobia

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Wednesday 18 Nov 2015 - 14:10 Makkah mean time-6-2-1437 Washington (IINA) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, in a statement issued on Tuesday called on the nation’s political and religious leaders to repudiate Islamophobia in the wake of a spike in anti-Muslim incidents following the Paris terror attacks. “The mainstreaming of Islamophobia by a number of our nation’s political and religious leaders has encouraged the latest hate-filled actions of anti-Muslim bigots,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “Now is the time for those leaders who are concerned about traditional American values of religious inclusion and tolerance to speak out against Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime.” On Monday, CAIR issued a community safety alert after a Texas mosque had its door covered in feces and pages of the Qur’an were thrown to the ground covered with feces. In that alert, CAIR cited anti-Muslim incidents reported since the Paris attacks, including terror threats to Florida mosques, vandalism at a Nebraska mosque, shots fired at a Florida Muslim family’s home, hate graffiti targeting a Connecticut Muslim student, an arson attack on a Canadian mosque, a tweet threatening Michigan Muslims, and innumerable hate messages sent online and by phone. Since that alert was issued, CAIR received reports about shots fired at a Connecticut mosque, police shooting of an Oklahoma man after he threatened to kill Muslims, an assault on a North Carolina Uber driver after he was asked whether he is Muslim. In addition to that an assault on a Canadian Muslim mother, and the removal of ‘Middle Eastern’ passengers from flight because the crew felt “uncomfortable.” Because of recent hate incidents, Muslim community leaders are being asked to implement long-term safety measures outlined in CAIR’s booklet, "Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety," which was published in response to a previous spike in attacks on American mosques. SM/IINA