US Islamic Centre on Fire: Is Islamophobia Growing?

On Friday morning local time, Houston’s Quba Islamic Centre was going up in flames. Flames were extinguished before the centre's school and mosque were ablaze, however, thousands of religious texts and materials were destroyed in the fire. A hooded figure was seen escaping the scene and fire accelerant was traced in the ruins. In a week that saw three Muslims being shot in Chapel Hill, NC, another seemingly hate-fuelled crime had caused irreparable damage, incidents of Islamophobia seem to be increasing in the United States.

Although the authorities have not been able to confirm the Chapel Hill Shooting or the incident in Houston, TX had Islamophobic backgrounds, many are convinced the background of the attacks is hate. In fact, according to the Washington Post, hate crimes with Islamophobic backgrounds have been increasing. Incidents have gotten a lot of media attention since the release of American Sniper which caused criticism around the world, especially by Muslims. A statistic by the FBI has stated that the number of hate crimes towards Muslims in the United States is still five times higher than before 9/11 even 13 years later.