Imam Ismail Ayyash, leader of the Masjid al-Eiman mosque on Buffalo’s West Side, has struggled to deal with the subtle aggressions and naked hate speech he has heard about since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
“I am receiving calls from community members that somebody has said they’re terrorists or they’re with Hamas, just because they are explaining what’s happening in Palestine,” he said. “Some receive messages through where somebody is threatening them. Why? Because they put a photo of the Palestinian flag on Facebook.”
Just as members of the Western New York Jewish community have reported an uptick in antisemitic hate speech since the war began six weeks ago, Ayyash is among those concerned about Islamophobic actions directed toward those of the Muslim faith.
The New York chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, CAIR-NY, reported receiving more requests for help in the first four weeks after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 than in the previous four months. As of Nov. 4, the national organization received 1,283 complaints nationwide since the war began, claiming an “unprecedented” rise in anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias-related incidents.
Violence, too, has been on the rise, and mirrors the months after 9/11, when anyone perceived to be Arab or Muslim faced a higher risk of confrontation, said Palestinian American Jeannine Keen, a Western New York resident who is Christian.
Many people are unaware that there are lots of Palestinian Christians, Keen said.
“The fact that people can automatically try to profile or judge somebody, just by seeing them, is crazy to me,” she said.
A 6-year-old boy was fatally stabbed Oct. 15 in Chicago in what police concluded was an anti-Muslim hate crime. Incidents also have been reported elsewhere, including in Maryland, where a woman wearing a hijab was verbally assaulted, and New York City, where a teenager had her hijab pulled on and was called a…
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