Anti-Muslim bigotry reports rose 733% after Israel-Hamas war began

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Soon after Heba Macksoud posted an image stating “I stand with Palestine” in a local Facebook group for residents of Marlboro, N.J., she began receiving an onslaught of hate.

Members of the group started giving her family-owned pharmacy negative reviews, calling her a “Jew hater,” and sending death threats to her niece’s car detailing business in nearby Manalapan. Someone even posted a video of her at a pro-Palestine protest and Macksoud, who wears a hijab, is now using a hat to cover her hair when she goes out.

“I stopped going out in public without somebody with me. I feel people staring at me like I’m inferior. I felt this way after 9/11,” said Macksoud, who is 52. “It definitely has not made me want to be quiet. I’m going to keep speaking up.” 

New Jersey saw a 733% spike in acts of bigotry against Muslims in the four weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza, according to The Council on American Islamic Relations of New Jersey (CAIR NJ). The organization typically receives two to four reports of anti-Muslim bigotry in a week. Since Oct. 7, they’ve been receiving about 25 calls per week, per spokeswoman Dina Sayedahmed.

As Israel resumes fighting in Gaza after a brief ceasefire, New Jersey may see tensions rise further. 

A Desi restaurant owner in South Jersey woke up on a Friday morning in October to a Quran being ripped apart and scattered in front of her restaurant, CAIR NJ Director Selaedin Maksut, said during a press conference.

At Rutgers University, a school with one of the largest Muslim populations in the country, Muslim Chaplain Kaiser Aslam said Muslim students have filed dozens of reports of bias, including being spat on or called terrorists since early October. A university spokesperson said that the Office of Student Affairs reviews and considers all individual claims of bias. 

Gaza’s population is predominantly Muslim, with a small Christian population. Muslims in the United States have reported seeing similar patterns of anti-Muslim hate as they did in the aftermath of 9/11, and in the time period leading up to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Most recently, three Palestinian college students were shot in Burlington, Vt., last week while speaking Arabic and wearing keffiyehs, a checkered scarf that symbolizes Palestinian identity and resistance. Authorities are investigating whether the incident was a hate crime. Last month, a six-year-old Palestinian child named Wadea Al-Fayoume was stabbed 26 times by his landlord in an alleged hate crime.

New Jersey has one of the largest South Asian populations in the U.S. Many South Asians are Muslim, and anti-Muslim racism impacts the South Asian community as a whole. In the aftermath of 9/11, Balibir Singh Sodhi, who was Sikh, was murdered in a hate crime.

Activists targeted

In this moment, much of the Islamophobic hate has been focused on those speaking out against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Aslam said students are expressing concern about being targeted or losing job prospects if they speak out in support of Palestine.

Fatima Ahmad, a South Asian senior at Rutgers University said Muslim students feel as if their “voices are continuously being silenced.” 

Ahmad said she and her friends were called terrorists when they attended a pro-Palestine protest on Princeton University’s campus. 

CAIR has received reports of people losing their jobs for posting online about Palestine. Young people in New Jersey who expressed support for Palestine have also faced threats and harassment. 

In one example Sayedahmed cited, students at Cherry Hill Public High School who brought Palestine flags to school or wore keffiyehs were harassed online and in person by peers and their parents.

One student's hijab was allegedly ripped off by another student in the school. Cherry Hill Public School did not respond to a request for comment.  

Community remains resolute

Despite the risks, many New Jersey community members are continuing to speak out against the violence in Gaza. 

Anam Raheem, a freelance writer from New Jersey who worked for an international development tech startup in Gaza between 2017 and 2021, has been vocal about speaking out in support of Palestine. Raheem said she would continue telling stories about Palestine.

“If this bars career opportunities for me, those career opportunities weren’t aligned for me,” Raheem said. 

Muslim leaders in New Jersey say their community is coming together in this trying moment and bridging connections across cultures and religions.  Muslims took part in an interfaith rally for a ceasefire that was held by the Northern New Jersey chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace outside Sen. Cory Booker’s Newark office on Nov. 13. 

“I’ve seen some beautiful expressions of vigils and prayers being organized as a result of this,” Aslam said. “For certain students, it’s pushed them towards their outward expressions of religiosity. I’ve heard women say, ‘I’m now wearing a hijab,’ because they want to express their solidarity more.” 

Rutgers student Ahmad described herself as “unapologetically Pakistani Muslim.”

“It’s made me stronger in my faith,” Ahmad said. “When one part of the ummah [Muslim community] is hurting, the rest of the ummah is hurting. It’s a humanitarian crisis, not a religious war, but it’s increasing our faith.”

Sofia Ahmed is a reporting fellow for Central Desi.

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