Islamophobia

Psychologists are studying the impact of anti-Muslim sentiment and exploring ways to prevent it

By Rebecca A. Clay | April 2017, Vol 48, No. 4 |Print version: page 34

When President Donald Trump first tried to stop citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, he cited the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as his rationale. Yet none of the men behind those attacks hailed from these countries. In fact, a Cato Institute analysis shows that between 1975 and 2015 no one from these countries killed a single American in a U.S. terrorist attack.

Unfortunately, equating Muslims with terrorists has become disturbingly common in American society—and the consequences can be violent. According to a Federal Bureau of Investigation report released in November, the number of assaults, attacks on mosques and other hate crimes against Muslims in 2015 was higher than at any other time except the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11. In 2015, there were 257 anti-Muslim incidents, up from 154 in 2014—a 67 percent increase. In 2001, 481 incidents were reported.

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