‘Anti-Muslim Hate is an Epidemic’

By Sunita Sohrabji

Muslim Americans remain one of the largest targets of hate crimes, according to the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report (EMS) - Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan, jointly introduced a House Resolution March 23 aiming to combat Islamophobia.

THE two congresswomen introduced the bill on the first day of Ramadan at a press conference held outside the US Capitol. The press conference was also held to commemorate the 51 victims who were killed in Christchurch, New Zealand on March 15, 2019. White supremacist Brenton Harrison Tarrant entered two mosques and gunned down victims as they were praying. The resolution — largely symbolic — calls on Congress to acknowledge the mass shooting and similar massacres in the US, along with the rise in anti-Muslim hate violence. It also calls on Congress to end gun violence, without stating gun control measures.

“Ramadan is usually a time where we step out of our daily routines and reflect on the suffering of those less fortunate than us,” said Omar. “But this year, it is also a time of increased terror for our Muslim brothers and sisters who are under attack around the world.”

Places Of Worship

The congresswoman alleged that much of the violence against Muslims stems from government entities. She called out China’s treatment of its Uighur community, Rohingyas in Myanmar, and ill-treatment of Muslims in India and Sri Lanka.

Tlaib, who represents a district with one of the largest number of Muslim residents in the US, said: “The March 19 shootings really shook my community. We had to completely rethink how we stayed safe in our places of worship.”

“I continue to struggle with how to protect my Muslim sons. One of my sons has told me he wants to hide his faith,” she said.

‘FAR RIGHT IS NO LONGER THE FRINGE’

Both congresswomen and representatives from organizations supporting the measure, blamed the spike in targeted violence on “Great Replacement Theory,” characterized as a plot to replace white people with immigrants, along with un-American values and culture.

Kareem Shora, Executive Vice President for Programs and Policy at Human Rights First, one of the organizations supporting the resolution, said at the press conference: “The far right movement is no longer the fringe. It is in the mainstream, even right here in Congress.”

Freshman Congressman Maxwell Frost, D-Florida, noted the rise of Islamophobia and extremism in his home state.

Even as attention has shifted in recent years to the AAPI community, Muslim Americans continue to disproportionately be the targets of hate violence, third only to Black people and the Jewish community. In 2019, the annual FBI Uniform Crime Report logged 273 hate crimes involving Muslim American victims. That number dropped to 171 in 2021 — the last year for which data is available — because several major law en-

Council on American-Islamic Relations said anti-Muslim hate crimes rose to an all-time high in 2016 and continue to be on the rise. “This is not a category we want to win. Even if numbers drop slightly, we will still be at the base camp of the mountain of hate.”

McCaw said he is “optimistic” that the resolution will pass, but noted that the Republican party has challenges acknowledging Islamophobia, even within its leadership. He, along with many other civil rights advocates, has called for making hate crime reporting to the FBI mandatory.

Opposition had already made itself heard even before the bill was introduced. Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Texas, issued a tweet March 22, saying he had voted against a resolution to celebrate Ramadan on the House floor.

“As a combat veteran, I served beside many local translators who were Muslims and good people. I can also at- forcement regions, including Los Angeles County, New York, Miami, and Chicago did not submit data, due to a new platform for reporting. Civil rights advocates said law enforcement personnel were not adequately trained to use the new platform. The FBI is rolling out the platform, along with training, over the next five years.

Fbi Hate Crime Data Underreported

Reporting is voluntary and not mandatory. Marshall Wong, who serves on Los Angeles’ Human Rights Commission, told Ethnic Media Services in an earlier interview that FBI UCR data has always been imperfect, because it is based on voluntary reporting. Previously, more than 85% of law enforcement agencies did not report crime data to the FBI. However, that number has been rising in recent years.

Amr Shabaik, Civil Rights Managing Attorney for the Council on American Islamic Relations’ Los Angeles chapter, said Muslim Americans are historically under-reported in FBI data collection of hate crimes because victims are often too afraid to report to law enforcement.

“There is an inherent distrust of law enforcement, which has a history of surveilling our community,” he told EMS.

Republican Opponents

Speaking to EMS after the press conference, Robert McCaw, Government Affairs Department Director at the

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Compton has prepared its draft 2023-2024 Action Plan (“Action Plan”) and Substantial Amendment to the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 Actions Plans (“Substantial Amendment”). Under Federal Regulations at 24 CFR 91.105, the draft Action Plan and Substantial Amendment will be available for public review and comment for a period of no less than 30 days beginning April 7,2023 and ending May 9, 2023.

NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that the Action Plan and Substantial Amendment will be presented to the City Council for approval on the following date:

DATE: May 9, 2023

TIME: 5:35 p.m.

LOCATION: Council Chambers of City Hall 205 S. Willowbrook Ave., Compton, CA 90220

At this meeting, the City Council will receive public comment on the draft Action Plan and Substantial Amendment that will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

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The City is an entitlement community that participates in the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) programs which require the submittal of a Five-Year Consolidated Plan as part of the City’s grant application to HUD which was approved and submitted to HUD in May 2020. The plan establishes a framework of housing, community, and economic development priorities for the City’s CDBG and HOME programs over the next five years. The Action Plan represents the fourth year of the 2020-2024 Five-Year Consolidated Plan. The Action Plan will appropriate CDBG and HOME funds to specific programs and projects for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The City’s annual allocations are $1,396,450 and $582,201 in CDBG and HOME funds, respectively, for the 2023-2024 fiscal year to implement programs and projects that benefit low- and moderate-income residents.

Since the adoption of the City’s 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 Action Plans, the City has identified two (2) activities that it wishes to cancel totaling $20,000 to be reprogrammed in the 2023-2024 Action Plan. To approve this proposed change, a public hearing and public review period is required.

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Copies of the latest draft of this document will be available for public review at the following locations:

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Publish: April 5, 2023