this is just the latest example of what
care says are new organized hate groups
in the United States that are stirring
up deep-seated resentment by average
Americans against Muslims it's Staten
Island in New York City and the mostly
Christian protesters in this
neighborhood are angry about Plans by
local Muslims to build a mosque on
property owned by the church the level
of fear and hatred never seen before in
public right on this very Street we have
a 9/11 hero that from this neighborhood
and it it wouldn't be fair it wouldn't
be fair just it's a slap in the
face it's happening all over the United
States cities approving the construction
of new mosques citizens whipped up by
anti-muslim groups taking to the streets
or city hall to protest here at the
Council on American Islamic relations
spokesman Ibraham Hooper says it's the
sharpest rise in islamophobia in the
United States that he seen in years I've
really never seen this level of
islamophobia in our society it used to
be you'd have an incident here an
incident there but there seems to be a
coordinated campaign a cottage industry
to defame uh Islam and to marginalize
American Muslims and we're seeing it
every day whether it's in Staten Island
opposition to a mosque there opposition
to a mosque in Tennessee or Manhattan
whether it's a Campa pain ad smearing
Muslims in Florida whether it's a a
Houston radio host saying blow up a
mosque in New York uh you know these
things are happening on a daily basis
just last month a mosque in Jacksonville
Florida was bombed Hooper says the
serious incident was ignored by the
national media we just had a bomb attack
on a mosque in Florida but you wouldn't
know about it because not one major
media Outlet in America covered it
Cooper complains the FBI has still not
found the bomber and other incidents of
violence against Muslims he says often
gets no attention from both media and
law enforcement why now K says attempts
by other religious leaders to suppress
anti-muslim outbreaks have evaporated
and there's a growing atmosphere of
public acceptance for anti-muslim acts
and as a result American Muslims are
increasingly finding themselves the
targets of discrimination and hate
especially from the Christian right the
Civil Rights division of the US justice
department does investigate the most
egregious examples of
islamophobia but says care the rate is
rising so fast authorities are having
trouble keeping up with it Mike
Kellerman press tv