More than two-thirds of US Muslims have experienced Islamophobia, poll finds

More than two-thirds of American Muslims say they have experienced Islamophobia, according to a new poll by the University of California Berkeley's Othering & Belonging Institute.

The report released earlier this week found that 67.5 percent of respondents said they had experienced anti-Muslim hatred, with women reporting having experienced it at a significantly higher rate.

Of the 1,123 people polled, 76.7 percent of female surveys said they had experienced Islamophobia, compared to 58.6 percent of men. An overwhelming majority of survey respondents - 93.7 percent - said that anti-Muslim hatred had affected their mental wellbeing to some degree.

“The survey, conducted two decades after the 9/11 attacks which led to a surge of hate crimes and prompted government policies targeting Muslims, provides insight into the experiences, lived realities, and psychological impacts of Islamophobia on millions of US residents,” the institute’s press release said.

The survey also found that younger people were more likely to hide their religion as a result of Islamophobia, with 45 percent of those aged between 18-29 saying they would do so.

Earlier this year, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) said that more than 500 anti-Muslim incidents were reported for the first half of 2021.

The incidents included attacks on individuals and mosques, which appeared to increase in May, when Israel launched its devastating 11-day assault on Gaza, and in June.