Ever since 9/11 occurred, the US has been unable to forgive Muslims for the acts of a few, as evidenced by the list of most racist states towards Muslims.
For Muslims, living in the US is not an easy task at all. One of the reasons behind this is the fact that for Muslims, culture, and tradition play an important part in religion, and American culture is extremely different from what they are accustomed to. Hence, you will find many Muslims unable to assimilate, trying to hold on to their culture, even after spending decades in America. Personally, I disagree with such people. If you move to another country, I believe it is your duty to integrate into their culture instead of creating further issues.
However, that is never an excuse for violence. Unfortunately, you will be bound to find such incidents of discrimination towards Muslims in a country where the President himself is a racist, homophobic bigot who actively campaigned on the basis of discrimination and, won! Thus, it comes as little shock that hate crimes against Muslims rose significantly after Donald Trump was elected the President of the United States of America. America is supposed to be accepting of different cultures and identities. Some of its biggest cities have a large mix of people from different ethnicities and backgrounds. However, at the same time, mosques are being burned down, and Muslims are being killed for standing up for women, which begs the questions, why are things changing in this regard?
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According to the FBI, the initial surge came after 9/11 which I mentioned earlier. However, it seemed that Americans were willing to move on, and the number of hate crimes reduced in 2002-2014. However, even then, these figures were much higher than the hate crimes committed pre-9/11. And this is just the official data. Even the US, which has established systems of reporting crimes, is guilty of severely understating crimes, especially when they are committed against minorities. Based on some studies, respondents have stated that they have been victims of such hate crimes but that they never reported them officially.
A major reason behind this is the spread of Islamophobia, which has gripped the country with a major role played by the alt-right movement. Due to the propaganda being spread, combined with the violent acts of a few, ( I know statistically there are tens of thousands of Muslims terrorists, but when you compare that with a population of 1.8 billion, it is but a drop in the ocean) Islam’s name has been tarnished on a national as well as global scale. In fact, if you want to learn more about the discrimination being faced by Muslims globally, head on over to the list of most racist Islamophobic European countries towards Muslims. This fear of Muslims encourages hatred towards them, which in turn made it acceptable in the minds of the people to carry out their own brand of justice against innocent Muslims.
The only way to combat this is to spread the truth about Islam and acknowledge the fact that it needs to be modernized and enter the 21st century. If countries like Saudi Arabia, the self-professed caretakers of Islam carry out stoning of people for adultery and cut off hands for theft, the increasingly progressive West will never accept Islam. On the other hand, Muslims need to take strong steps to denounce the terrorist acts and distance themselves from the proponents of such acts.
We wanted to learn more about the most racist states towards Muslims, and if you want to learn more about overall racism on a deeper level, you should head on over to the list of most racist cities in America ranked by hate crimes. Or maybe you’re interested in the most racist states, for which I’d recommend the list of most racist states ranked by hate crimes. Unfortunately, despite the major presence of Islamophobia and the need to counter it and prevents its rise and influence from spreading, the government has shown little concern towards understanding this issue. In fact, statistics on discrimination and hate crimes are notoriously inaccurate, and most data gathers has been on a country-wide basis instead of state wise. Despite the lack of data, whatever information has been gathered such as this Civil Rights Report 2017, a disturbing increase in the number of hate crimes against Muslims is evident, what indicates extremely negative perceptions towards Muslims and Islam. Thus, we relied on this study commissioned by the California State University. Now, due to the limited means of gathering data, the study only focused on 20 states, and our list is based on these states. For our ranking, we considered the overall number of hate crimes against Muslims noted in each state, as well as the percentage increase from 2014. By using multiple criteria, we were able to cancel out the inherent bias generally present in any criteria, thus creating more accurate rankings.
Now, let’s see our list of most racist states towards Muslims. We are going to start with a least racist state.
10. Virginia
It’s one thing to believe that you are superior to Muslims in any way, simply because of religious beliefs. It is another thing to attack them verbally for this belief and make them feel unwelcome or like they don’t belong. It is completely insane to actually kill someone for the simple sin of being a Muslim. A 17-year-old girl was killed while walking home from the mosque with a metal baseball bat in Fairfax, Virginia earlier this year.
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9. Tennessee
Tennessee used to be a safe haven for Muslims and was considered to be one of the best places for Muslims to live. However, things have broken down, and they have broken down fast. Now, it is a place where Muslims often have to live in fear, especially after a mosque was burned down in the area. Online threats and increased bullying have now become a way of life for many Muslims in the state.
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8. Minnesota
Things in Minnesota have gotten so bad for Muslims that there are videos of Muslim children detailing how they are facing Islamophobia and attempting to counter it. Incredibly, Islamophobes have actually called children members of ISIS. No wonder Minnesota is one of the most racist states towards Muslims.
Copyright: satura86 / 123RF Stock Photo
7. Kentucky
Kentucky is another state on our list of most racist states towards Muslims where Islamophobia’s stock has risen suddenly and dramatically, much to the fear of the Muslims living there. This can be demonstrated by death threats towards Muslims received at a mosque.
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6. New Jersey
New Jersey has been on the edge of Islamophobia for a while now. Death threats towards Muslims don’t even raise an eyebrow anymore while the Muslims residing in the state have considered getting gun permits as the only realistic way to defend themselves from this hatred and possible violence. Thus, it should come as no surprise that New Jersey is one of the most racist states towards Muslims.
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5. Ohio
In 2014, there were 0 incidents of hate crimes against Muslims being committed. In 2015, there were 15 such crimes. So what happened that saw Ohio go from considering Muslims as peace-loving and equals to hating them? It may be the migrant crisis, and the hatred spread by some people that Muslims will invade their way of living and try to change their culture. Whatever the reason, the situation has gotten so bad that the Columbus City Council had to pass a resolution stating their condemnation for Islamophobia.
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4. Texas
Another state on our list of most racist states towards Muslims where death threats to mosques have become the norm. Apparently, lot of work needs to be carried out by Texas in order to stop the rising hatred against Muslims.
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3. Michigan
Michigan has gone a step beyond most states in its support of Islamophobia. Properly organized protests have taken place in the state against Muslims, and a town official actually advocated for the death of all Muslims on his Facebook, and rather than attribute it to a moment of madness, refused to apologize for it and stood by his words.
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2. New York
It is surprising to find New York as one of the most racist states towards Muslims, considering how it has always been a melting pot of different cultures and backgrounds. Muslims in New York are afraid for their lives and their families, as violence against Muslims has risen drastically in recent years.
Pixabay/Public Domain
1. California
California tops the list of most racist states towards Muslims, with over 20% of the hate crimes against Muslims in America occurring in the state. Things have gotten so bad that recently, the California State Assembly passed a resolution to declare August 2016 to be “Muslim Appreciation and Awareness month” in an effort to promote the contributions of Muslims and combat Islamophobia as well. Maybe this will actually make a difference, even though California is another state where mosques regularly receive threatening letters which promote Muslims genocide. It is unfortunate to learn about the depths to which the American people have fallen through, on the other hand, Muslims need to be more proactive in promoting Islam as the religion of peace as well.
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