Fri Dec 13 06:15:20 UTC 2024: ## Biden Administration Unveils First National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia
**WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2024** – The outgoing Biden administration released its first-ever national strategy to combat Islamophobia on Thursday, detailing over 100 steps to curb hate crimes, violence, bias, and discrimination against Muslim and Arab Americans. The plan, released five weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, follows a similar initiative targeting antisemitism launched earlier this year.
The White House cited a recent rise in threats against Muslim and Arab communities, including the October 2023 murder of a six-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois, as impetus for the strategy. The plan prioritizes four key areas: raising awareness of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiment; improving safety and security for these communities; accommodating religious practices; and fostering cross-community solidarity. Many of these goals mirror those in the administration’s antisemitism strategy.
While the administration claims most actions are already implemented, with the remaining to be rolled out before January 20th, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) criticized the plan as “too little, too late.” CAIR pointed to the strategy’s failure to address systemic issues like a “federal watchlist” targeting Arab-Americans and the ongoing conflict in Gaza as major shortcomings. Concerns have also been raised by some Arab Americans who supported Trump regarding his potential cabinet appointments. The release of the strategy comes amidst a backdrop of political tension, with pro-Palestinian groups frequently disrupting Biden campaign events earlier this year. Despite Trump’s victory, including in the largest Muslim-majority U.S. city, some of his supporters within the Arab-American community are expressing apprehension.
First Piper 