NJ Muslims: Is The Garden State Getting More Islamophobic?

There is a razor-thin line between patriotism and xenophobia.

Which way is New Jersey trending?

On Wednesday, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fullop announced that the city would be increasing police patrols around selected local mosques after one received threatening messages and letters.

“We don’t want you here,” a female caller stated on a recent voice message left to the Al-Tawheed Islamic Center. “If you guys come over here in mass numbers like you want to do, every American that has their 2nd amendment right is going to take their f****** gun out and blow you away. So I just want you to be prepared for that.”

• See related article: Jersey City Mosque Receives Threats: Muslims Are ‘Evil’

Other public officials, such as Newark’s Deputy Mayor Rahaman Muhammad, have told personal stories of how the public backlash against immigrants and Muslims has affected them and their loved ones.

According to Muhammad, his mother was so spooked by recent anti-Muslim backlash that she asked her son how she can apply for a gun permit.

Muslim residents have reported similar fears and stories of alleged Islamophobia and discrimination across the Garden State over the past months.

In late November, a Muslim-American citizen reported that she was allegedly removed from a flight at Newark Liberty International Airport because of her religion.

• See related article: Woman Says She Was Removed From Newark Airport Because She Is Muslim

During a public meeting of the Bernards Township Planning Board on Tuesday, attendees cheered and applauded after board members voted to deny an Islamic mosque’s application to build a worship center in a historic section of the municipality.

Opponents of the mosque have claimed that the religious affiliation of the proposed building has nothing to do with the issue, and that their objections are based on the chosen location, which lies in a residential neighborhood.

• See related article: Basking Ridge Votes No To Islamic Mosque

Reports of discrimination against Muslim residents also precede the Paris attacks.

In September, several Muslim parents in Jersey City claimed that their civil rights were violated after the Board of Education reversed an earlier decision to close public schools for Eid al-Adha, one of the most important dates in the Islamic calendar.

Also during this year’s Eid al-Adha, a Rutgers-Newark student alleged that one of her professors refused to excuse her from class for Eid al-Adha unless she proved that it was required by her religion.

• See related article: North Jersey Muslims Allege School Discrimination During Islamic Holiday

TRUMP, 9/11 AND MUSLIM IMMIGRATION

Much of the recent public discussion about Muslim immigration has coalesced in response to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s brazen campaign against Muslim and Syrian immigration into the United States.

In November, Trump made a now-infamous proclamation that he witnessed news reports of “thousands of Muslims” cheering and celebrating in Jersey City the day of the 9/11 attacks.

• See related article: WATCH: Trump: ‘Thousands’ Cheered In N.J. Town As Twin Towers Fell On Sept. 11, 2001
• See related article: Trump: Apologize For Saying I Lied About N.J. Muslims Cheering 9-11

Trump’s declaration was widely criticized and scrutinized by New Jersey civil rights groups and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fullop, who stated that no such accounts of celebrating Muslims exist.

• See related article: I Was In Jersey City On 9/11. Nobody Was Happy, Mr. Trump.

Recently, Trump called for a total ban of Muslim immigration into the United States until the nation can “figure out what is going on.”

• See related article: Trump Says Stop Muslims From Entering U.S.A.

Scores of civil rights and Muslim activist groups have since lambasted Trump’s statements.

“Donald Trump’s proposal to bar Muslims from entering our country based solely on their faith is blatantly unlawful and fundamentally un-American,” NY ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero stated on Tuesday. “We are a nation of immigrants, many of whom came to this country to escape prejudice and discrimination. We urge all of our political leaders to categorically reject this dangerous escalation of hateful rhetoric because it undermines our core American values.”

“The fact that this can be perpetuated by someone who is in the running to be president, it’s scary,” said Al-Khatahtbeh, the founder of MuslimGirl.net, an online publication that aims to combat misconceptions about Islam, told the International Business Times.

“It really makes way for a heightened environment for hate crimes,” Al-Khatahtbeh attested. “For American Muslim women who wear headscarves, it makes it even harder for them to step out of the house because they’re easily identifiable. ... These comments don’t happen in a vacuum. They have real life-or-death consequences for American Muslims.”

• See related article: Local Muslims and the Impact of 9/11