American Muslims experienced more religion-based harassment in 2003 than before, but Madison appears to be bucking the trend.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations received 1,019 claims of physical or verbal attacks against Muslims in 2003, up from 602 in 2002. Rabiyah Ahmed, communications coordinator for the council, gave several reasons for the upswing of intolerance.
After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, there was an immediate increase in incidents against American Muslims, according to Ahmed. They increased in 2003 at least partially due to the American-led war in Iraq.
\Whenever there is a war in a Muslim country, American Muslims feel a backlash here,"" Ahmed said.
The USA Patriot Act, along with other legislation passed by Congress shortly after Sept. 11 unfairly targets Muslims, Ahmed said. Muslim communities have been targeted by wiretaps, detainment and invasions of records and files, she explained, adding since Sept. 11, the government does these things with little regard for due process or probable cause.
Ahmed said intolerance is gaining acceptance by being relayed on television, radio and even politicians.
""[Intolerance] does come from elected officials. You have [Republican] Rep. Pete King from New York who just a few weeks ago said that 85 percent of mosques in America are run by extremist groups, and that they're not cooperative, and that they have their own hidden agendas,"" Ahmed said.
Some Muslims from Madison, however, say they are not experiencing high levels of intolerance. Yunes Uslu is a Muslim who has lived in Madison for two years and is applying to enter the graduate program at UW-Madison. According to Uslu, he has not experienced a single instance of discrimination in the city. He added that of his numerous Muslim friends, none have told him about problems regarding their religion or ethnicities.
""Madison has students from all over the world and I think there is pretty good tolerance here,"" Uslu said.
Maryam Ashraf, President of the Muslim Students' Association, said he agrees Madison is a very tolerant city. However, she explained that while she is not discriminated against, she and other Muslims are treated differently.
""People will stop me on State Street and ask me where I'm from, and I'll say 'I'm from Milwaukee,' and then they'll say, 'Where are you really from,' to imply that I can't be a real American,"" she said.
