Islamophobic incidents in California are skyrocketing under the administration of President Donald Trump, according to a report released Wednesday by the Council on American Islamic Relations advocacy group. Analysts say the sobering new numbers indicate how xenophobic rhetoric and policy from on high inspire hate at the grassroots level, even in a state like California, typically viewed as a bastion of liberalism and diversity.
Reports of Islamophobic incidents in 2017 skyrocketed by 82 percent from the previous year, according to CAIR California’s 2018 Civil Rights Report. The incidents include the vandalization of mosques, physical assaults, and discrimination at the hands of federal employees. Nearly half (44.9 percent) of all incidents were located in airports, amid the Trump administration’s repeated attempts to enacte executive orders barring the citizens of a handful of Muslim-majority nations.
“We are seeing Muslims being delayed for no good reason and Muslims unable to print their boarding passes at home,” says Saad Sweilem, CAIR California’s civil rights attorney. “A vast majority of the time, it’s somebody who’s done nothing wrong, but they have a Muslim name and are subjected to this unfair treatment as a result.”….