Top US Muslim group urges increased security during Ramadan

The nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization is urging communities across the nation to take extra security precautions during Ramadan this year.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a statement Tuesday that it has seen an uptick in bias-motivated incidents and hate crimes against Muslims since President Trump won the 2016 presidential election. 

According to CAIR, there was a 17 percent increase in bias-motivated incidents against American Muslims and a 15 percent increase in the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes from 2016 to 2017. {mosads}

The findings appear to be consistent with an analysis released by the Southern Poverty Law Center that found hate crimes increased in 2016. The group’s annual census results showed that the number of anti-Muslim hate groups in the country had also increased over the past year.

The FBI found that hate crimes increased more than 5 percent from 2015 to 2016, and nearly tripled the day after Trump was elected.

Because Ramadan services are typically held in mosques, CAIR is urging American Muslim leaders and Islamic institutions to step up security efforts during the monthlong holiday.

Ramadan will begin the evening of May 15, in the U.S., and end on the evening of June 14. Community members are urged to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR’s Civil Rights Department, and to file complaints on the council’s website.