Islamophobia incidents rising in US as pro-Palestinian students accused of antisemitism

​​​​​​​By Islam Dogru

Anti-Muslim incidents are on the rise in the US, according to a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) report released in early April.

The report revealed a 56% surge in anti-Muslim incidents in 2023, with 44% occurring after Oct. 7, suggesting heightened prejudice against Muslims.

Pro-Palestine demonstrations at Columbia University have expanded to US campuses, leading pro-Israel groups to denounce the protests as antisemitic.

Efforts by universities to quell the protests have sparked debates on free speech, with accusations of antisemitism raising concerns about rising Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian incidents in the US.

The Muslim rights advocacy group’s New Jersey Communications Director, Dina Sayedahmed, condemned the use of antisemitism allegations to silence Palestinian and Muslim students critical of Israel, calling it a violation of free speech.

“It's mainly due to public officials’ unbalanced, disingenuous and dishonest statements on Palestine and on Muslims,” said Sayedahmed, noting that CAIR witnessed a more than 200% increase in anti-Muslim incidents from 2023 to 2024.

"The state is unable to actually investigate true antisemitic events because they're being flooded with false accusations of anti-Semitism,” she said.

- 'Calling advocacy for Palestine antisemitism is cheapening the term'

Kaiser Aslam, from the Islamic Life Center at Rutgers University (ILC), stressed that campus protests targeted Israeli policies, not Jewish people, highlighting growing Islamophobia and harassment faced by Muslim students.

Referring to an attack on the center earlier this month, he said: "We became the target of not just smear campaigns but actual violence."

Aslam said the university has witnessed a notable rise in anti-Muslim incidents, with its ILC becoming a sanctuary for pro-Palestinian students.

“Muslim students sometimes are targeted by being spat on, called certain names or someone just driving down into the car and yelling something at them,” he said,

Stating that antisemitism is a reality in the US, Aslam said: "However calling advocacy for Palestine anti-Semitism is actually cheapening the term itself."

Auzan Amjad from the Muslim Students Association at Rutgers acknowledged long-standing tensions on campus, even before Oct. 7:

"Unfortunately, Islamophobia has become the nature of our campus," he said.

Sumayya, a Palestinian-origin student, cited increasing Islamophobia, noting that Muslims were increasingly targeted and harassed on campuses.

Stating they have not received any sort of response from the administration, she said: "People just walking on campus with their friends are shouted out or cursed out. Those are all instances that have been building up."

- Palestine protests at US universities

Pro-Palestine demonstrations have spread to prestigious US universities like New York University (NYU), Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tufts University, the New School and the University of North Carolina.

Meanwhile, pro-Israel groups called for National Guard intervention to disperse student protests, alleging antisemitism.

The attack on Rutgers University's Islamic Life Center during Eid-al-Fitr – marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, raised alarms, underscoring the rise in Islamophobic incidents alongside accusations of antisemitism.

*Writing by Muhammed Yasin Gungor in Istanbul