By Emily Kim Jenkins, Contributing Writer
Ever-rising tensions in the Middle East continue to ripple at home, making the 7.6 thousand miles between the Gaza Strip and San Diego feel a lot smaller for some.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) released a report detailing a national rise in anti-Muslim hate. CAIR received over 8 thousand complaints of hate and mistreatment across the country in 2023, the highest recorded in its thirty year history. The report accounts for the national total, but the local numbers are equally as stunning.
Tazheen Nizam, Executive Director of CAIR San Diego, says their office saw a 300 percent increase in complaints in 2023 from the prior year. 45 complaints were filed in the months following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel. These complaints, she says, include harassment of Muslim or Palestinian-owned businesses and two incidents outside of the Islamic Center of San Diego.
“They were done with the intent of instilling fear and hate in our community,” Nizam said.
Nizam says many of the complaints are from students in grades K-12. Students have reported that having pro-Palestinian stickers on binders and water bottles, expressing a pro-Palestinian opinion or wearing a keffiyeh gets them in trouble with school administration, where Nizam says they are being spoken to without their parents.
According to data reported by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, 119 instances of hate crimes have been reported since 2001 with anti-Arab or anti-Islamic motivations. This includes 6 instances in 2022, but this data may not reflect the full picture. Nizam says a lot of the complaints CAIR receives do not get reported to outside agencies because of fear.
“They want to hide their identity, they’re fearful of being fired. They’re fearful of facing backlash from teachers, coworkers, communities, neighbors,” she said. After meeting with leaders in the county, CAIR has campaigned for local calls for a ceasefire, like those passed in Los Angeles County or San Francisco, but the only city in San Diego to respond in kind is Lemon Grove.
“The movement is there. There’s a big wave of change coming, Godwilling, but it’s not here yet in San Diego,” Nizam said.
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to https://www.cavshate.org/.
