Anti-Muslim Hate Crime Hit New High in Q4 2016 – Report
Jeddah, 11 Jumadil Awwal 1438/08 Feebruary 2017 (MINA) – The fourth quarter of 2016 saw a remarkable surge in the anti-Muslim hate crimes in the western countries, concurrently with the US presidential polls, according to a report published on Tuesday.
In the three months, ending on December 31, 2016, Muslim minorities and Islamic worship places in such countries as the United States, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Britain, Hungary Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands, were repeatedly targeted by the radical right groups, KUNA quoted the Islamophobia Observatory of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as saying in its latest report.
The election of US President Donald Trump sent a negative signal to the Muslim minorities in the US and elsewhere who suffer from acts of violence, prejudice, discrimination, intolerance and harassment as well as arson attacks on mosques and Islamic centers.
Trump pressed ahead with his campaign pledge and signed, on last January 27, an executive order to ban visa for citizens of seven Muslim conflict-hit countries, including Syria.
Trump’s measure signaled out a specific group of people based on their beliefs, prompted the FBI to carry out extreme vetting procedures and surveillance of the Muslims living the US, and designated for top posts people who are known of anti-Muslim stances, the report pointed out.
Such actions can only foment bias and encourage violence against Muslims not only in the US but across Europe as well, it cautioned.
Crimes against Rohingya
The report noted for the first time that the atrocities of the Muslim Rohingya people in the Rakhine State, west Myanmar, a kind of islamophobia.
The crimes against the Rohingya also saw a record high in late 2016 with the Burmese police killing nine civilians on October 9, the report pointed out.
It cited the Israeli government decision to ban Friday sermons and ‘athan’ (Muslim prayer announcement) through microphones late last year as a type of anti-Muslim bias and islamophobia. (T/RS05/RS01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
Myanmar N
