More mosque incidents were recorded in 2015 than in any year since we started keeping this tally. 2015 accounted for the most ever cases in both the Damage, Destruction, Vandalism category and the Intimidation category, adding weight to assertions that the most recent cycle of Islamophobia is characterized by its violent tone.
November 2015 was the most significant spike, with a total of 17 mosque incidents, with all but 2 of those incidents occurring in the wake of the November 13 Paris terror attacks. No comparable spike was observed following the January 7 Paris terror attacks, with 5 incidents occurring the entire month of January. By November 2015, Islam was a central issue in the 2016 presidential campaign, with GOP frontrunner candidate Donald Trump putting for policy ideas that would ban all Muslims from entering the United States.
The incident tallies reached a height not seen since 2010, when the controversy over the Park 51 Islamic Cultural Center became an election campaign issue. That cycle of Islamophobia was characterized by efforts to prevent the expansion or construction of mosques.
It is highly likely that the numbers below significantly underreport the actual number of incidents. Our incidents are collected from news searches and incidents reported to CAIR. Conversations with local community leaders often reveal that they do not report mosque incidents to media, CAIR or law enforcement.
Damage-Destruction-Vandalism (DDV): Incidents involving property damage.
Harassment: Demonstrations or acts that involve Islamophobic slurs.
Intimidation: Threats of violence or other acts apparently intended to cause fear in those targeted by the act. This category includes armed anti-Islam demonstrations and placing severed pig’s heads on mosque property.
Zoning: Islamophobic issues raised during zoning proceedings. We include an incident in the zoning category only if bias is clearly identified in zoning proceedings. Places of worship of many faiths routinely face opposition from neighbors due to traffic or land use concerns. Incidents where no bias is independently identified are not including in our counts.
Macon, Ga., December, 2015 – A vandal spray-painted “terrorist” and profanity on the Islamic Center of Macon.