White House unveils 1st-ever national strategy against Islamophobia
The White House has unveiled a comprehensive national strategy to counter Islamophobia, the first of its kind. The plan outlines over 100 measures aimed at curbing hate, violence, bias, and discrimination against Muslims and Arab Americans. The announcement comes five weeks before President Joe Biden's term ends and President-elect Donald Trump assumes office. The anti-Islamophobia strategy mirrors a similar plan against antisemitism launched in May 2023.
Strategy's focus and recent surge in anti-Muslim incidents
The Biden administration has emphasized the need for this strategy amid rising threats to Muslim and Arab communities. For instance, the October 2023 murder of Wadee Alfayoumi, a six-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois. The plan focuses on four main areas: raising awareness of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hate, improving safety and security for these communities, accommodating their religious practices, and encouraging cross-community solidarity.
Over 100 initiatives across society
The strategy also includes Executive Branch actions and suggests more than 100 other initiatives across different sectors of society. It stresses the importance of recognizing that Muslims and Arabs are often targeted for their identities. The plan calls for new data collection and education efforts to raise awareness of such hate, highlights successful practices to report hate crimes, and explains that discrimination in federally funded activities is illegal.
White House urges adoption of similar initiatives
The White House is urging state, local, international counterparts, and non-governmental sectors to follow suit. However, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) slammed the plan as "too little, too late." CAIR said it "fails to promise any changes to federal programs that perpetuate anti-Muslim discrimination on a massive scale" and doesn't address a "federal watchlist" targeting some Arab-Americans or what they called "the US-backed genocide in Gaza."
Rising tensions and concerns over incoming administration
Tensions have risen between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups in the wake of recent developments in Gaza. Human rights advocates have sounded alarms over rising antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab hate. "Threats to one community must be treated as threats to all. Increasing cross-community collaboration continues to be a key part of administration efforts to protect the safety of all Americans, including through new partnerships that build solidarity among communities of diverse faiths and beliefs," the White House press release read.
