White House working on new measures to combat Islamophobia

(Patria) - The White House announced it will develop a national strategy to combat Islamophobia as President Joe Biden faces skepticism from many Muslim Americans.

The launch of action against Islamophobia had been expected for months. The administration released a national strategy to combat antisemitism in May, which also mentions curbing hatred against Muslims, but efforts gained momentum after the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The strategy, a joint effort led by the Domestic Policy Council and the National Security Council, will seek to develop a plan with stakeholders to protect Muslims, and those perceived to be Muslim due to their race, national origin, from discrimination, hatred, intolerance and violence, the White House said.

"Today's announcement is the latest step... to establish an interagency group to increase and better coordinate the U.S. government's efforts to counter Islamophobia, antisemitism, and related forms of bias and discrimination within the United States," said White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, as reported by Reuters.

A poll conducted by the Arab American Institute, released on Tuesday, shows for the first time since its founding in 1997 that a majority of Arab Americans did not identify as Democrats. Thirty-seven percent said they identify as Democrats, 32 percent as Republicans, and 31 percent as independents.

Forty percent of respondents said they would vote for Donald Trump, the likely Republican candidate in 2024, which is 5 percentage points higher than in 2020.

The poll is the latest evidence that Biden's campaign for a second term is rapidly losing support among Muslims and Arab Americans due to his strong support for Israel.