SALT LAKE CITY — The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, says they recorded nearly 800 complaints in nearly three weeks following Oct. 7.
That includes, according to CAIR, reported incidents of bias since violence in Israel and Palestine escalated.
Yussuf Abdi, the Imam at the Madina Islamic Center in Salt Lake, says he received a phone call last month, threatening to harm him and his mosque.
The Muslim Student Association at the University of Utah also reported having their group chat spammed with inappropriate images, videos and messages of both Islamophobia and xenophobia on Oct. 12.
Various members also said they received harassing calls and threatening voicemails calling them "terrorists" as well as telling them to go back to their country.
Just last week, 61-year-old Robert Wolcott was charged with a hate crime for allegedly spitting on and yelling at a Utah mother, who was dressed in traditional Muslim clothing, and her young son. That woman, Sidra Faithullah, an American-born citizen, told FOX 13 News that Wolcott also yelled and told her to go back to her country.
"After Oct. 7, right now I'm dealing with at least nine cases," said Luna Banuri, the executive director for the Utah Muslim Civic League.
One of those cases, Banuri says, involved a Palestinian woman being yelled at and cursed at while at Fashion Place Mall last month.
"I know for a fact in the Muslim community, we don't report. We don't feel comfortable reporting," she said.
Previously, Banuri says, the Utah Muslim Civic League wasn't a hate reporting agency. But now, she says numerous calls sparked the need for a community response.
That included an addition to their website last Thursday.
"We added a page where we want to hear from the Muslim community, specifically, about their interaction," said Banuri.
Banuri urges those in her community who may have been a victim of a hate incident or hate crime to report it.
"We do give them an option of making sure if they would like to be anonymous, we will honor that," she said.
On top of that resource, Banuri says they will also continue to provide education to the public. She says they have been working very closely with the Jewish community for the last two and a half years around a group called Salt Lake Partners Against Hate. They just released a booklet, titled "Speak Up and Stand Up Against Hate."
"We need to stand together, we need to be able to see each other, understand our differences, and have respect for those differences," said Banuri.
That's a sentiment echoed by Abdi.
"We have to work together to stop the hate crime," he said.
Banuri says they are working on requesting increased patrols around their mosques. She says they also try to report any events they are having so that law enforcement is informed and can provide protection, if needed.
Banuri says they are looking at creating emergency protocols for her community. A "Know Your Rights" campaign is also in the works.
Banuri says they want to make sure they have some kind of data to be able to track and understand how the community is being impacted by hateful incidents. It's something she hopes the web page will help provide.
If you would like to report an incident, you can do so online HERE.
