The condition of minorities in the United States is getting
worse. As per data extracted by Pew Research, many more Muslims were subjected
to attack in 2016 compared to 2001. In 2001 there were 93 assaults against
Muslims. In 2015, the number of reported attacks against them was 91. In 2016
the number went up dramatically to 217. The data source is the hate crime
statistics collected by the FBI. The Bureau collects data concerning hate
crimes from approximately 15,000 police or law enforcement agencies.
It is apparent that Muslims suffered a significant rise in
assaults in the US in the period starting 2015 and ending 2016. Assaults are
not the sole type of hate crime done against Muslims and other minority
religious groups. Intimidation is extremely common, with the victim afraid of
being inflicted body harm. The year 2016 saw intimidation against Muslims on
the rise. About 144 victims have reported the harassment. In 2015, the number
of reports on the same charge was 120. The numbers, however, are still few
compared to 2001. That year saw 296 victims being subjected to intimidation.
Muslims also suffered crimes which
included the destruction or damage to property, like vandalism. These also went
up from 70 cases in 2015 to 92 in 2016. Hate crimes against Muslims in 2016
clocked up to 307 incidents. This increase in hate crimes is a topping on the
already high hate crime statistics in 2016, as total anti-Muslim incidents went
up by a massive 67 percent from fewer than half 154 in 2014. The next year saw
257 in 2015.
The increase in hate crime incidents
has led a number of Muslims living in the United States to say that the
community suffers discrimination. The Pew Research Survey done in the earlier
months of 2017 discovered that 75 percent of Muslim Americans complain about
substantial discrimination against Muslims in America. This view is shared by
69 percent of the general public. Besides these, about 50 percent of the Muslim
adults reported that it is tough to be Muslim in America. About 10 percent of
this specific group attributed such a condition to prejudice, racism, and
discrimination.
Source: World Religion News