White House efforts to create a strategy to combat Islamophobia are met with reluctance over a surge in hate incidents against Arab and Muslim Americans since Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
CBS News spoke with several Muslim and Arab American advocates who expressed frustration with the Biden administration response to the situation in Gazaciting the increasing number of civilian deaths and President Biden failing to call for a ceasefire.
Muslim American lawyer Salam Al-Marayati has worked with the Biden White House in the past. But despite the Biden administration’s efforts to develop a strategy to combat Islamophobia in the United States, he remains skeptical about working together in the future.
“At present, it is very difficult to imagine how a national strategy to combat Islamophobia will work,” said Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, who is also a member of the Coalition of American Muslim community. CBS News: “American Muslims here in the United States feel unsafe and unsupported as they witness the horrific attacks on Palestinians in Gaza. Muslim families, students and employees are afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation, as many of those who have spoken out have faced retaliation, including job loss, suspension, censorship, fishing trolling, intimidation and targeted violence.
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The White House announced plans on November 1 to develop a national strategy to combat Islamophobia, led by the Domestic Policy and National Security Councils. The proposal follows an announcement in May marking the federal government’s first-ever national strategy to combat anti-Semitism. Conversations and meetings on developing the anti-Islamophobia strategy go back a year, according to a senior administration official who said engagement with community stakeholders continues and additional meetings were planned for early next year. This effort is part of an interagency White House policy committee created in December 2022 that focuses on combating anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and related types of discrimination.
“(The development of the strategy) should be really welcome news. I think the challenge is because of what is happening and, especially with the number of deaths and destruction continuing to rise, people are understandably very “hurt, angry, shocked (and) frustrated at America’s involvement in this,” said another source familiar with discussions around the strategy’s development. “And so the timing of these two different things overlapping, even though they’re totally distinct, is really a challenge. And unfortunately, I don’t know what will happen as a result with the Islamophobic strategy.”
While some have expressed doubts, others say it is important to continue working on ways to combat hate and address issues of systemic discrimination that have targeted Arab and Muslim communities for decades.
“We recognize, like most other communities, that engaging on an issue does not mean you endorse or accept White House policies on that or any other issue,” said Arsalan Suleman, council chair. director and co-founder. of America Indivisible, a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating Islamophobia. “So while I and many others in the community are very critical of current policy toward Gaza, we certainly want to engage with the White House on Islamophobic strategy, given its importance,” Suleman added.
Advocates say a plan to combat Islamophobia in the United States is needed after a point in anti-Muslim sentiment following the Hamas attack on October 7 in Israel. But some question the effectiveness of this strategy and are hesitant to participate in its development. A White House official told CBS News that administration officials are “listening” to the community and that the Biden administration remains engaged in developing a strategy.
“We had engagements where community members engaged on strategy and were also able to clearly articulate their positions on what’s happening overseas during those engagements while they were primarily focused on strategy,” one official said. » said a senior administration official. CBS News sat down with the staffer to talk candidly about the strategy’s ongoing development. “We want to make sure that we listen to them (and) so as part of their communication with us, when they raise these issues, of course we listen to them. And many have pointed out that what’s happening overseas has an impact on what’s happening in the United States in terms of Islamophobia,” the official said.
The official insisted that support within the Arab and Muslim American community is strong, citing a letter from the American Muslim Community Coalition applauding the early November announcement.
“We are committed to actively participating in the process of supporting the development of the strategy and look forward to a comprehensive approach that will address the various drivers of Islamophobia, including the deep-rooted institutional manifestations that have plagued our communities for decades” , says the letter. .
The White House hopes to complete its work on the strategy by late winter or spring.
The senior administration official also responded to criticism of the timing of the announcement by explaining that the White House had planned to announce the development of the strategy well before the Hamas attack in October. Months of conversations and meetings with dozens of Muslim and Arab American groups preceded the attack, the official said. A rise in anti-Muslim hate-fueled incidents in the United States – including deadly The stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in the Chicago area created the need to move forward with the strategy announcement, the official added.
