‘Silence is complicity’: US to develop national strategy to counter Islamophobia, other forms of hate

United States President Joe Biden on Thursday spoke about his government's plan to develop the country's first-ever national strategy to counter Islamophobia and related forms of hate.

Biden said that his administration cannot stand by while hate against Muslims, and those wrongfully perceived to be Muslim, including Arabs and Sikhs, is given oxygen.

"We cannot stand by while hate against Muslims, and those wrongfully perceived to be Muslim, including Arabs and Sikhs, is given oxygen," Biden wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "This is why we are developing a National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Related Forms of Hate.

He added: “Silence is complicity. We won't be silent.”

The White House on Wednesday announced its plan to develop the first-ever US National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia in the United States.

It is meant to bring together lawmakers, advocacy groups and other community leaders with the administration in order to “counter the scourge of Islamophobia and hate in all its forms,” the White House said.

“For too long, Muslims in America, and those perceived to be Muslim, such as Arabs and Sikhs, have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks and other discriminatory incidents,” the White House said. “We all mourn the recent barbaric killing of Wadea Al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim boy, and the brutal attack on his mother in their home outside Chicago.”

It added that the announcement is the latest step in Biden’s directive last year to establish an interagency group to increase and better coordination among the US government's efforts to counter Islamophobia, antisemitism, and related forms of bias and discrimination within the country.

“Moving forward, the President, Vice President, and our entire Administration will continue working to ensure every American has the freedom to live their lives in safety and without fear for how they pray, what they believe, and who they are,” the White House said.

US Vice President Kamala Harris said that she, along with President Biden, has a duty to keep the US citizens safe and condemn all forms of hate.

“Our nation was founded on the fundamental principle that all people should have the freedom to live, to worship, and to be without fear of violence or persecution,” she wrote on X.

According to the Associated Press, such an anti-Islamophobia effort has been anticipated for months after the Biden administration in May released a national strategy to combat antisemitism that made passing reference to countering hatred against Muslims.

Incidences of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate have skyrocketed in the United States and other countries since the October 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas that killed more than 1,400 people. Since then, over 9,000 people in Gaza have been killed in retaliatory action by Tel Aviv against the militant group.

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