Tue Mar 11 08:28:13 UTC 2025: ## Record High in Anti-Muslim and Anti-Arab Bias Reported in US

**Washington, D.C.** – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reported a record-high 8,658 complaints of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab discrimination in 2024, a 7.4% increase from the previous year. The surge, the highest since CAIR began tracking such incidents in 1996, is attributed to heightened Islamophobia fueled by the Israel-Gaza conflict that began in October 2023.

Employment discrimination accounted for the largest share of complaints (15.4%), followed by immigration/asylum (14.8%), education (9.8%), and hate crimes (7.5%). CAIR directly linked the increase to the conflict, stating that the war “drove a wave of Islamophobia.” This assertion is supported by several high-profile incidents, including the hate crime conviction of a man who fatally stabbed a six-year-old Palestinian American boy. Other reported incidents included the attempted drowning of a young girl, the stabbing of a Palestinian American man, and the assault of a Muslim man. Even Israeli visitors were targeted in one incident.

The report also highlights a significant crackdown on pro-Palestine protests on university campuses. Numerous arrests and suspensions of student protesters have been reported, alongside instances of violence against demonstrators. These actions have been met with condemnation from civil rights groups, who view them as a threat to free speech. The arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student with permanent residency, has been particularly criticized as a dangerous escalation. President Trump has vowed further action against pro-Palestine activism, characterizing some student activities as “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, and anti-American.” CAIR’s New York Executive Director, Afaf Nasher, denounced Khalil’s arrest as a “shocking escalation” that threatens civil liberties. The report underscores a deeply troubling rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiment in the US, directly linked to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

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