Across the nation, government officials have used policies and public statements to suggest that Islam has no place in American society, putting basic religious freedom and equal treatment at risk.
From extremists spreading vitriol and hate online, to elected officials writing anti-Muslim bigotry into public policy, Islamophobia has become ingrained in our country’s societal, educational, and political landscapes. This isn’t an accident; Islamophobic rhetoric and policies are often fueled and funded by special interest groups.
Islamophobia Defined
Islamophobia is fear, hatred, or prejudice toward Islam and Muslims that results in a pattern of discrimination and oppression. Islamophobia creates a distorted understanding of Islam and Muslims by transforming the global and historical faith tradition of Islam, along with the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of its adherents, into a set of stereotyped characteristics most often reducible to themes of violence, civilizational subversion, and fundamental otherness.
Contemporary Islamophobia is shaped and reinforced through popular culture and news media and is often legitimized by state policies, including the Trump administration’s recent expanded travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries and government surveillance practices.
Islamophobia Network
The Islamophobia Network is a decentralized group of organizations and individuals that share an ideology of extreme anti-Muslim animus, and work with one another to negatively influence public opinion and government policy about Muslims and Islam in the U.S.
The Islamophobia Network is fed millions of dollars to spread fear and hatred and support anti-Muslim policies using legal tools and lobbying special interest hate groups.
Israel’s Push for Islamophobia
In 2024, Israel reportedly increased its global public relations budget by $150 million to expand its “consciousness warfare” efforts. Documents leaked from a PR firm in 2025 suggest that part of these efforts involves creating a public fear of Muslims.
Part of this campaign of hate includes using AI-driven tools to produce thousands of ads per month and encouraging social media influencers to push pro-Israel, anti-Muslim content online.
Islamophobia in the Political Landscape
From a New York City council member calling for the “expulsion of Muslims from Western nations” and the Director of National Intelligence spreading anti-Muslim conspiracy theories, to the Trump administration reinstating its discriminatory travel ban and the “Israel First” governors of Texas and Florida launching defamatory attacks against CAIR, Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate have become more deeply intertwined with U.S. politics than ever before.
Rates of anti-Muslim sentiment tend to increase during election cycles, and the electoral campaign of New York City’s first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, was no exception.
In June 2025, the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) tracked posts mentioning Mamdani across multiple social media platforms. Of the content that was examined, 39.4% contained overtly anti-Muslim language targeting Mamdani or Muslims as a whole and framing Islam itself as a public threat. On X (formerly Twitter) alone, CSOH identified more than 35,500 Islamophobic and xenophobic posts between June and October 2025.
Following his election, well known pro-Israel, anti-Muslim extremists online and elected officials engaged in anti-Muslim rhetoric, calling Mamdani a “terrorist sympathizer,” “jihadist,” and falsely equating his election to 9/11—reinforcing the dangerous stereotype that Muslims are inherently tied to terrorism simply because of their faith.
Dangerous Impact of Islamophobia
The anti-Muslim agenda pushed by the Islamophobia Network has helped fuel a hostile climate that American Muslims have had to endure for decades, where hate and bigotry have led to horrific attacks targeting the Muslim community.
In 2015, three Muslim college students, Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha, and Razan Abu-Salha, were viciously executed in their Chapel Hill home by their neighbor in an Islamophobic hate crime. In 2023, Wadea Al-Fayoume, a six-year-old Palestinian American boy, was murdered and his mother severely injured in Plainfield by their neighbor, fueled by anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate. In 2025, a man was arrested and pled guilty to committing arson targeting two Minneapolis mosques.
These attacks are among the thousands of reported incidents of anti-Muslim hate, and, every year, countless more incidents of hate, discrimination, and harassment go unreported.
Report Islamophobic Incidents
As Islamophobia continues to threaten the rights, safety, and well-being of American Muslims, CAIR remains committed to protecting our communities and combating anti-Muslim narratives from elected officials and in the media.
If you or someone you know is the target of Islamophobia or any other form of hate or discrimination, report it to your local CAIR office.
- Click here to contact CAIR-CA’s Civil Rights Department.
- Click here to contact CAIR National’s Civil Rights Department.
To learn more about the Islamophobia Network and the rise of anti-Muslim hate in the U.S., visit islamophobia.org, a project of CAIR.
Sources: ABC7, Al Jazeera, CSOH, The Guardian, The Intercept, islamophobia.org
