Source: Associated Press
By TERRY SPENCER
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — A Muslim civil rights group blasted President Donald Trump and his administration Monday, saying his words and policies led to a sharp increase in attacks and bias against Muslims in 2017.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said Monday the number of reported anti-Muslim hate crimes and reported incidents of discrimination, bullying, harassment and other acts of anti-Muslim bias both jumped 15 percent last year. The group blames the increase on the president, particularly his push to ban immigrants from several Muslim-majority countries. The ban now includes Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, along with non-Muslim North Korea and some Venezuelan officials. It originally also included Iraq.
The report says “Trump’s xenophobic rhetoric … emboldened those who sought to express their anti-Muslim bias and provided a veneer of legitimacy to bigotry.”
Categories: America, Muslims, The Muslim Times, USA