Anti-Muslim crimes in US up by 15 percent

In a report released by the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based advocacy group, anti-Muslim violence, discrimination as well as harassment has been on the rise.

The number of incidents went up from 525 in 2001 to 602 in this year's study that covered the period from January 1 to December 31, 2002.

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In addition to the direct acts of discrimination and violence, the report examined the impact of Washington's post-9/11 policies such as the USA Patriot Act, on anti-Muslim acts.

According to CAIR, these regulations have had a negative impact on the civil liberties of American Muslims.

Some of the government actions featured in the report include the March 2002 raids on Muslim families and businesses in Virginia and Georgia, the Special Registration programme for Muslim visa holders, and the "voluntary" interviews conducted with Iraqi-Americans.

Muslims reported the largest number of incidents in California, Florida, Virginia, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Texas, and Maryland, CAIR says. Along with religious and ethnic profiling, workplace discrimination was one of the largest categories of complaints.

"The daily experiences of Muslims in schools, workplace, airports, courts, and police included incidents in which they were singled out because of actual or perceived religious and ethnic identity," CAIR Research Director Mohamed Nimer said.

Nimer said that anti-Muslim sentiments related to the 9/11 terror attacks was cited in a number of cases.