US Civil Rights Group Documents Widespread Attacks on Muslims in 2025

CAIR Releases Annual Report Highlighting Rise in Islamophobia Amid US-Iran Conflict

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has released its annual report, detailing an increase in anti-Muslim discrimination and hate speech in the United States. The report notes that the ongoing conflict with Iran has sparked a new wave of Islamophobia, even among high-ranking government officials.

According to CAIR, several prominent Republican lawmakers have made public statements expressing anti-Muslim sentiments. Representative Andy Ogles stated that “Muslims don’t belong in American society,” while Representative Randy Fine wrote on social media that “deport them ALL” and described the choice between dogs and Muslims as not difficult. Another Republican representative, Keith Self, shared a statement claiming that Islam seeks world domination.

CAIR’s research and advocacy director, Corey Sawyer, attributes these statements to an environment of increasing hostility towards Muslims in the US. Sawyer notes that while the legal rights of Muslims have not changed on paper, CAIR argues that those rights have been narrowed due to anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies.

The report highlights a significant increase in complaints of anti-Muslim discrimination nationwide, with 8,683 complaints received by CAIR’s offices across the country in 2025. This represents a slight increase from the previous year and is the highest volume of complaints since CAIR began publishing its civil rights report in 1996.

CAIR attributes this uptick to several factors, including the Trump administration’s rollbacks of civil rights operations at the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Education, as well as statements from the president attacking Muslim-majority groups living in the US. The report notes that anti-Muslim narratives have resurfaced, particularly the notion that Islamic principles are inherently threatening and anti-American.

At least five pieces of legislation introduced on the federal level aim to effectively ban the practice of Islam in the United States or restrict its adherents’ entry into the nation. CAIR’s report also highlights the creation of a “Sharia-Free America Caucus,” which uses terminology developed by anti-Muslim extremists.

Source: Al Jazeera