Discrimination and hate crimes against Arab-Americans have dropped in recent years after a spike following the 9/11 attacks, but such prejudice is still more common than in the 1980s and 1990s, according to a report by an advocacy group.
The study gives Hollywood some credit for presenting a more balanced view of Arabs and Muslims in recent films. But it said prejudice is worse than ever in popular culture. It particularly faulted the news media for allowing political commentators to inflame fears that Muslims are terrorists.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee released the study Thursday, calling it the most comprehensive look at prejudice and racially motivated violence that Arab-Americans and Muslims faced in the United States between 2003 and 2007.
Mary Rose Oakar, the group’s president, said the level of prejudice became clear during this year’s presidential campaign, when critics of President-elect Barack Obama used false rumors that he was a Muslim as a line of attack.
The group said it received reports of about 130 violent hate crimes against Arab-Americans annually during the years reviewed. That’s up slightly from the roughly 90 annual reports it received during the 1980s but down dramatically from the roughly 700 incidents reported in the weeks after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The group collected data for the report on its own, in part using anecdotal information. But its hate crime numbers are consistent with those of the FBI, which reported about 140 victims of anti-Islamic hate crimes in 2007, up from about 40 in 1995 and down sharply from more than 500 in 2002.
The report cited delays at airports based on agents’ stereotypes or misleading “no fly” lists as a main source of discrimination, and said Arab-Americans are regularly subjected to long delays in immigration proceedings.
At a press conference unveiling the study, a Lebanese-American lieutenant colonel in the Alabama National Guard said he has complained about persistent anti-Muslim comments in his unit, including from a brigade commander. Lt. Col. Lance Koury of Birmingham said he has sent formal complaints up the chain of command but has received no response.
Alabama National Guard spokeswoman Katrina Timmons said the National Guard Bureau investigated Koury’s complaints and ruled against him in June. He has appealed and the matter is set for hearing next year, she said.
Some of the study’s harshest criticism was directed toward media outlets, which the report says have allowed bigotry to seep into mainstream discourse. The criticism focused on commentators such as Ann Coulter and conservative Christian leaders such as the late Rev. Jerry Falwell for routinely equating Islam with terrorism.