This Week in Hate: Multiple incidents of hate against Muslims during Ramadan

In the month of May, we observed Islamophobic racist verbal assaults against community members and continued vandalism at Muslim places of worship during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

SAALT tracked 8 incidents of hate violence and 7 instances of xenophobic political rhetoric towards Muslims and those percieved as Muslim in the month of May, making it the second highest month for hate violence incidents in 2019. Of the 8 incidents, 2 were physical assaults, 4 included written/verbal assaults, and 4 vandalism/property damage.

This level of amplified hate is a direct consequence of divisive rhetoric from political and community leaders and the discriminatory policies advanced by government institutions against our communities.

Since November 2016, we have documented over 484 incidents of hate violence and 252 incidents of xenophobic political rhetoric aimed at South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Middle Eastern, and Arab American communities around the country.

The recent cycle of vitriolic xenophobic, anti-black, and Islamophobic political rhetoric has fueled violence against our community members. Our communities continue to be targets of horrific incidents due to race and perceived religious identity.

Our religious institutions and community spaces continue to be targets of violence for white supremacists who seek to disrupt our safety and challenge our belonging. Before we begin to address solutions to combating hate violence we must heal as a community and protect those most vulnerable.

We are here to say that we belong, we demand safety, and we will remain vigilant as a community to hold our government accountable for fanning the flames of hate violence.

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South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)

A national social justice org working on policy analysis/advocacy on issues affecting the South Asian community: immigration, post 9/11 backlash. www.saalt.org