"We've seen faith communities come together and take a clear stance against hatred," said Faizan Syed, executive director of the Missouri chapter of the Council for American-Islamic Relations.
Jewish and Muslim communities are the most targeted religious groups, according to FBI data, and advocacy organizations report a rise in hate crimes during the last year. Anti-Muslim hate crimes in the U.S. rose in the last year from 260 to 300 incidents, according to figures from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Harassment was recorded as the most frequent form of anti-Semitism, according to a 2017 ADL audit. Physical damage, destruction or vandalism to mosques was the most frequent anti-Muslim hate crime, according to a 2018 report from CAIR.
Leaders of 20 mosques, synagogues and gurdwaras — which are places of worship for Sikhs, who often are mistaken for Muslims — around the country also found religious groups are amping up security, hosting self-defense classes, and educating neighbors about religions, with simplified instruction and open houses.
Allison Miller of St. Louis, a stay-at-home mom and convert to Islam, created four-hour self-defense classes for Muslim women after she was physically attacked while wearing a hijab outside a Kevin Hart comedy show in 2015.
In the last decade, safety has been such a priority for synagogues, temples, mosques and churches that several companies now specialize in security measures for religious institutions. Firms teach rabbis, imams and priests to handle threats, as well as to train volunteers in congregations to spot suspicious behaviors, serving as a voluntary security force.
Advocates say far more work is needed to combat the increase in number of hate incidents, as white supremacists are becoming more visible and emboldened.
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