Executive Summary
It is no secret that our nation’s politics and culture have become more polarized since Donald Trump entered the presidential elections in 2015 and then became president. His divisive and xenophobic rhetoric has targeted Mexicans, African Americans, Muslims, and anyone with differing views as un-American outsiders. Most alarming however, this rhetoric has translated into policy, dangerously impacting the lives of millions both here and abroad. Muslims have been at the center of President Trump’s hateful wrath and CAIR has closely monitored its impact and fought to stop the flood of bias and bigotry affecting American Muslim communities. This report provides a top-level summary of the rise of bias incidents and hate crimes as reported to CAIR offices from 2014 to 2019, the time period corresponding to Trump’s entrance into national politics.
The results are alarming: a total of 10,015 anti-Muslim bias incidents, with measurable spikes in 2017 after the declaration of the Muslim Ban. Like other hate-crime reporting mechanisms, CAIR’s numbers are assumed to be far below the reality. Other findings during the 2014-2019 period include: