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U.S. Hate Crimes Surge against Minorities | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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People counter the ‘Freedom of Speech Rally Round II’ outside the Islamic Community Center in Phoenix, Arizona May 29, 2015. REUTERS/Nancy Wiechec


Washington- While the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump called for stopping assaults against ethical and religious minorities, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that hate crimes against Muslims increased during 2015 in line with the presidential electoral campaign and the speeches against Muslims, Mexicans, Black people and immigrants.

The F.B.I. reported that attacks against American Muslims surged last year, driving an overall increase in hate crimes against all groups.

Following the victory of Trump, assaults against Muslims jumped—dozens of anti-Muslims and anti-minorities as videos went viral on news and social media.

In its report, the F.B.I. cataloged a total of 5,818 hate crimes in 2015 — a rise of about 6 percent compared to 2014 — attacks against Muslim Americans and Islamic centers jumped 70%, reaching 260 assaults. It was the highest since 2001, where more than 480 attacks occurred in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

According to F.B.I. Director James Comey, “We need to do a better job of tracking and reporting hate crime to fully understand what is happening in our communities and how to stop it.”

Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said that this increase was expected after Donald Trump promoted for hate against Muslims and encouraged Islamophobia slogans.

In Bethesda, the police spread a video showing an incident that took place in Starbucks—a white woman approached a veiled woman and poured a liquid on her before she ran away.

In the same context, seven Muslim women are suing Urth Caffe in Laguna Beach, alleging they were kicked out from the cafeteria. They said that the café owner called the police, claiming that the women violated the café rule to not stay for more than 45 minutes — the police arrived and asked them to leave.