The number of hate crimes reported in Michigan dipped in 2007.
But a Detroit-area Muslim leader said 2007 was the worst year since 2001 for vandalism aimed at mosques and Arab or Muslim businesses. On just one night in January 2007, three mosques and 10 businesses in Dearborn and Detroit were attacked by vandals, said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan.
A spokeswoman for the Detroit branch of the NAACP had no comment.
The report said there were 627 reported hate crime incidents in Michigan in 2007, down 4 percent from 653 in 2006. That compared to 640 reported incidents in 2005 and 556 in 2004.
Michigan held its position as the state with the third-highest number of reported hate crimes, below California, with 1,400, and New Jersey, with 748.
Detroit had the most reported hate crimes in Michigan, with 28. Flint was next with 23; followed by Taylor, with 13; Benton Township, Buchanan and Greenville, with 11 each; Dearborn, Grand Rapids and Burton, with 10 each; and Eastpointe, with 9.