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Ohio Muslim leader tells noncitizen students not to protest amid crackdown, rising hate

An Ohio Muslim civil rights leader condemned the government's crackdown on anti-Israel protests, including at Ohio State University, as a new report raises concerns about a nationwide rise in anti-Muslim discrimination and attacks. "Mistreating the weakest, the littlest, the least has become almost a national sport and some people even take pride in targeting immigrants, targeting people of color," said Khalid Turaani, executive director of the Ohio office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He said Americans must speak out against the use of tax dollars going to Israel to attack Gazans. However, in light of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arresting a Columbia University graduate student, Turaani warned noncitizen students in the U.S. not to participate in protests as it is not safe. Turaani made these comments at a press conference as the national Council on American-Islamic Relations released its annual report Tuesday saying they received more than 8,650 complaints in 2024, the highest number since the organization began publishing its annual civil rights report in 1996. Complaints rose more than 7%, breaking the previous record set in 2023. The number of incidents is likely an undercount as many do not report incidents to CAIR, Turaani said. Turaani said clashes with law enforcement in May 2024, at the height of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, drove some of the nationwide increase in reports. CAIR called this year's report "Unconstitutional Crackdowns" because all levels of government in 2024 attacked first amendment rights by arresting and regulating anti-Israel protesters, Turaani said. This comes as President Donald Trump's administration sent letters this week to 60 universities nationwide telling them to address antisemitism on campus or risk losing federal funding. Letters were sent to Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati. Turaani said CAIR condemns antisemitism and all types of hate but supports students and others protesting the genocide in Gaza perpetrated by Israel. "We believe that all of us should separate hatred of Jews because they are Jews and legitimate criticism of a foreign state, that is the state of Israel, that is accused and there's so much evidence of it committing genocide and war crimes," Turaani said. USA TODAY reporter N'dea Yancey-Bragg contributed to this report. jlaird@ @LairdWrites This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: CAIR Ohio decries unconstitutional crackdown on anti-Israel protests