Texas Islamophobia Spreads Statewide After 45 Interviews Document Public Threats
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 17
Texas Islamophobia Spreads Statewide After 45 Interviews Document Public Threats
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 17
Summary
More than 45 interviews across Texas found many Muslims now see anti-Muslim hostility as a routine part of public life, with some changing family plans out of fear.
Top Texas leaders' sharper rhetoric has coincided with incidents at mosques, parks and public meetings, reinforcing the sense that Islamophobia has moved from the fringe into the mainstream.
Recent cases include a man charged with making a terroristic threat at a major new Islamic center in Houston and a confrontation over a mosque expansion in McKinney.
In Conroe, a woman who told Muslim shoppers they were not welcome in Texas or the United States later received nearly $250,000 from supporters after video of the encounter spread.
For families like Ghulam Kehar's in Irving, the shift has become personal enough to alter daily life—he arranged for his wife and four children to join his Coast Guard deployment rather than remain behind.