The White House has announced that US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to establish the country’s first-ever national strategy to counter Islamophobia.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “President Biden ran for office to restore the soul of our nation. He is unequivocal: there is no place for hate in America against anyone. Period.”
“We look forward to continuing our work with community leaders, advocates, members of Congress, and more to develop the strategy — which will be a joint effort led by the Domestic Policy Council and the National Security Council — and counter the scourge of Islamophobia and hate in all its forms.”
She went on to say that ” for too long, Muslims in the US, and those perceived to be Muslim, such as Arabs and Sikhs, have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks and other discriminatory incidents”.
This is the “latest step as part of President Biden’s directive last year to establish an interagency group to increase and better coordinate US government efforts to counter Islamophobia, antisemitism, and related forms of bias and discrimination within the US”, Jean-Pierre was quoted as saying in a White House statement.
The initiative comes amid a spike in antisemitism incidents and increased fears of Islamophobia across the US in the wake of the ongoing ongoing genocide in Gaza by Israel where more than 8,500 Palestinians were killed. Forty percent of the slain are children.
