Trends and Catalysts of Anti-Muslim Hate Crime and Bigoted Attitudes

Abstract

Anti-Muslim hate crime in the United States rose to record highs after 9/11, never reverting to preattack levels. Hate crimes against Muslims, Arabs, and others combined to make 2001 the worst year for overall hate crime since national record-keeping began in 1992. However, after a series of elevated plateaus, hate crimes against Muslims spiked again during the last decade, followed by a decline. Fluctuations in anti-Muslim hate crime correlated with brief periods around domestic terror attacks, overseas conflicts, and statements by political leaders around those events. Moreover, prejudice indicators in surveys relating to Muslims also remain at elevated levels in the two decades following 9/11 as Muslims and others have been maliciously stereotyped as a terror threat and as a looming demographic. Increases correlate to periods when fearful anti-Muslim stereotypes and animus are most widely circulated in mainstream online and political venues, often in the discourse around terror attacks and demographic change.