A few years ago, Hamas attacked Israeli civilians, and Israel responded against Palestinians with what many experts call genocide. Although the violence — which is still going on — occurred in the Middle East, the actions have had reverberations for Americans. Anti-semitism and Islamophobia have grown worse. After October of 2023, the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and CAIR national recorded some of the highest levels of Islamophobic activity seen since September 11, 2001.

The Metro’s Sam Corey spoke to people practicing Islam in the area and scholars of Islamophobia to better understand why this particular form of hatred is rising.