Reports of hate crimes and harassment against Muslims in California tripled last year from the year before, the highest number ever recorded outside the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, according to a report to be released today by a national American Muslim organization.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations reported 221 incidents in 2003 of anti-Muslim bias in California, ranging from the severe beating of a Yorba Linda youth to vandalism of a San Luis Obispo mosque. Nationally, the council reported 1,019 anti-Muslim incidents, representing a 69% increase.
The report attributed the increased incidents to several factors, including a "lingering atmosphere of fear" stemming from the Sept. 11 attacks, fallout from the Iraq war, anti-Islam rhetoric from some conservative religious leaders, increased reporting of incidents by communities to the council, and U.S. anti-terrorism policies, which Muslims allege adversely affect them.
"Things are getting worse and worse," said Mohamed Nimer, the council's national research director. "This has become part of our normal life -- coping with increased attacks and vulgarities toward our faith and our life."
Researchers at other organizations have also documented the adverse impact on Muslims since Sept. 11. They include the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission and the state Senate's Office of Research, which last month issued a draft report concluding that Arab, South Asian and Muslim immigrant communities had borne a "substantial share" of scrutiny by federal agencies.
Last year, the U.S. Justice Department's internal investigators found "significant problems" in the way its employees had treated immigrants detained after Sept. 11, including engaging in verbal and physical abuse of suspects and causing excessive delays in their release.
A Justice Department spokeswoman contested allegations of mistreatment, however. "The department's actions taken to deter and dismantle future terrorist attacks are fully consistent with the constitutional laws of the U.S.," said spokeswoman Casey Stavropoulls. She added that the department was combating anti-Muslim discrimination and had conducted more than 560 investigations of bias since Sept. 11 -- one-fourth of which had resulted in federal, state or local prosecutions.
