In the past week, middle school students in Royal Oak chanted “Build the Wall,” a Canton police officer was suspended over a racist Facebook post, and a University of Michigan student reported she was confronted by a man who threatened to set her on fire if she didn’t remove her hijab.
These are just some of the incidents reported since last week’s election of Donald Trump, which came after a long campaign that often focused on Muslims.
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), said he’s heard “a great amount of concern” from Muslims around Michigan.
“And not just because of some events that have taken place here, but the seemingly high amount of racist and xenophobic attacks that have taken place to people of color all throughout the country,” he said.
He said there seems to be a “general state of intolerance” occurring in society.
Last night, Trump called on his supporters to “stop it” with the harassment, with the intimidation and attacks. But Walid wasn’t convinced.
“It reeks of some insincerity, considering his Chief Strategist Mr. Bannon is part of the ‘alt right’ and is a well-known anti-Semite, Islamophobe, white nationalist, so I don’t know what Mr. Trump is talking about... He says, ‘cut it out’ on one hand and then he, on his transition team, is looking at putting in his cabinet known white nationalists who are bigots against people of color,” Walid said. “So I don’t find what he’s saying to be sincere at all."
Hear the full conversation above.
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