Despite attempts by the foreign media to send a message that hate crimes against Muslims are on the decrease worldwide. Evidence shows that the problem is only worsening.
The hijab has been the subject of much attention last month after mother-of-six Alia Ansari, from Fremont in California, was shot dead at pointblank in a Glenmoor neighborhood. Ansari was wearing hijab when she was slain in front of her three-year-old daughter near her home on Oct. 19. She was on her way to collect her children from elementary school.
Some family members and Muslim leaders have speculated that the only motive anyone would have for killing her was the garment of her faith – her hijab – and that the crime was none other but a hate crime against Muslims and Islam. “Whoever did this did not see Alia Ansari as a mother of six children,” said Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, a well known and respected local Muslim scholar and leader. “The gunman saw a symbol of what people are taught to hate,” he told the media standing outside Ansari’s home.
In response to the tragedy, US Muslim community leaders and the Foundation of Self Reliance are organizing a “Wear a Hijab Day” on Nov. 13 as a symbolic gesture of solidarity in support of Ansari.