US Muslims ‘face more harassment’

Muslims in the United States were subjected to a record number of alleged harassment attacks in 2003, a new report by a Muslim rights group says.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) said it received 1,019 claims of physical and verbal abuse, up from 602 the previous year. It said Muslims were harassed at work, in schools and in their communities.

Fears of terror attacks after 11 September 2001 and the Iraq conflict contributed to the increase, it said. The Cair also blamed what it called Muslim-bashing in the US media and the misapplication of the country’s anti-terrorism bill, known as the Patriot Act.

BBC News, 3 May 2004