RNA - A local Islamic leader says he has not heard of a spike in the harassment of Muslims in the St. Louis area since last week’s election, but says the number of such instances had already dramatically increased over the last 18 months.
Missouri’s Council On American/Islamic Relations Executive Director Faizan Syed tells KMOX the FBI report released yesterday citing a 67 percent increase of such cases nationally in 2015, may be understating the problem. He says many victims don’t report harassment.
“The nature of discrimination, or being harassed, is that it creates a situation within that person that they won’t report, they won’t tell anybody. It’s humiliating for that person,” he says.
Syed calls Donald Trump’s statement on “60 Minutes” Sunday night, telling those harassing minorities to “stop it,” a small step in the right direction. But he says it’s not enough to reverse 18 months of anti-Islamic rhetoric. “Once you create an atmosphere where people are emboldened and empowered to do these types of actions, it’s very, very difficult to close this as well.”
Despite Trump’s reassurances, Syed says Muslims are concerned about their futures in the U.S. He reports seeing concern among first and second-graders at a local elementary school the day after the election. “They were talking about how their parents were speaking. That maybe they’ll have to leave the country. That maybe they don’t have futures in the United States. They’re really becoming afraid of what’s going on.”
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