CAIR-Chicago Reports Spike in Hate Messages, Community Concerns Received After Outbreak of Mideast Violence
Laments “Atmosphere of De-Humanization” Created by One-Sided Political Statements & Media Reporting
(CHICAGO, IL, 10/11/2023) - The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today reported a disturbing spike in hate calls/emails, and community concern outreach since the outbreak of violence in the Middle East.
CAIR-Chicago says the volume of hate messages - dozens per day over the past few days – rivals that received following the 9/11 terror attacks or the announcement of Trump’s “Muslim ban.”
The calls, emails, and social media comments range from people yelling anti-Muslim insults and classic Islamophobic tropes, to threats of violence and gloating at the death of civilians in Gaza.
Other calls from community members include instances of harassment that reference the situation in Israel and Gaza and complaints of letters and statements being sent from employers (hospitals, banks, law firms, and other private and public institutions, and in some cases even schools), that express one-sided empathy, share support links for Israel, but have nothing to say about the long-standing Palestinian suffering, or more pertinently, the crunching of the already debilitating siege and the carpet bombing that is claiming hundreds of civilian lives as we speak. CAIR-Chicago reported yesterday that one local community member lost six family members in night raids that dropped a bomb over their home as they slept in their beds. “These one-sided statements that naturally carry the authority of an employer over an employee fail to appreciate that the unfolding events affect two communities, not one, in fact, multiple communities. All the lauded progress made on DEI seems to have quickly collapsed before this major stress test,” Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director said.
“The equally one-sided statements issued by public officials and the one-sided reporting by the media has of course helped create this lop-sided atmosphere in which members of our community are essentially sitting ducks. This is doubly concerning because we had come to believe that we had learned the hard lessons from the darkest days of flippant Islamophobia in the years after 9/11 where the lack of balanced leadership of our elected leaders, and the irresponsible and biased reporting by the media directly contributed to hanging our communities out to dry,” Rehab added.
“It is frustrating, that for all the education, wisdom, and life experience we have at the highest levels of leadership in this open democracy, we could still approximate Orwellian atmospheres of mind control, gaslighting, and dehumanization, so readily, when it comes to certain issues.
He noted that also today, CAIR’s Maryland office condemned growing reports it is receiving of Muslim and Arab students experiencing harassment and intimidation in public high schools and on college and university campuses.
Yesterday, CAIR’s Greater Los Angeles Area office and Jewish Voice for Peace, Los Angeles (JVP-LA) condemned recent biased political statements on the violence in the Middle East made by two school districts in Los Angeles County.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR also urged houses of worship and human rights activists engaging in protests to take security precautions after a surge in racist, hateful, and threatening rhetoric online, as well as inflammatory comments by political leaders.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago, 202 870 0166, arehab@cair.com; Erin P.R. Davis, MCM, Communications Coordinator of CAIR-Chicago, 773-802-8786, epdavis@cair.com.