Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Report: 'Muslim Ban' Increased Anti-Muslim Discrimination Nationally And In The Tri-State

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is out with its 2018 Civil Rights Report, suggesting "concrete evidence that Trump's Muslim ban resulted in increased anti-Muslim discrimination and violence across the United States in the past year."The Muslim advocacy group says anti-Muslim bias incidents and hate crimes increased in 2017. From 2016 to 2017, CAIR reports bias events increased 17 percent and hate crimes were up 15 percent.

Here's a link to download "Targeted: 2018 Civil Rights Report."

"Locally, Tri-State-area Muslim families and children experienced a 34.7 percent increase in hate incidents and discrimination in 2017 over 2016," says CAIR Cincinnati Executive Director Karen Dabdoub. She says the increase was just 13 percent from 2015 to 2016.

In terms of calls for assistance, the local chapter took 107 calls in 2015, 121 in 2016, and 163 in 2017.

Dabdoub blames the increases on the president's rhetoric and travel bans from predominantly Muslim countries. "It's not just a coincidence that this same timeframe in which Donald Trump was running for office and serving his first year in the White House coincides with these increases," she says.

Bullying and employment discrimination are the most commonly reported problems in the Cincinnati region. Sana Hassan, CAIR Cincinnati staff attorney, says incidents include people yelling slurs and insults at Muslims, including children; people yelling "Trump" at adults and children; women having their head scarves pulled off in public; women being followed and taunted in a grocery store parking lot; and a woman who was nearly run down by a car in the Clifton area as the driver yelled anti-Muslim slurs.

"I don't see the targeting of the Muslim community changing anytime soon unless we have a president who treats everyone, regardless of their faith, equally," Hassan says.

The U.S. Supreme Court is slated to hear arguments on the president's third travel ban Wednesday.

Senior Editor and reporter at WVXU with more than 20 years experience in public radio; formerly news and public affairs producer with WMUB. Would really like to meet your dog.