Civil Rights group urges Calls for Swift Policy Changes to Uphold Justice, Protect Communities
(BALTIMORE, Md., 3/19/2025) – The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today released its 2024 civil rights data, highlighting a troubling rise in incidents impacting the safety, rights and well-being of Muslim communities. From last January through December, the civil rights group recorded 609 incidents, complaints, and requests for assistance statewide, and is now urging policymakers to take swift, substantive action to curb the unconstitutional crackdown on civil liberties.
SEE: CAIR Maryland News Conference Releasing 2024 Civil Rights Data
“This data is not just numbers; it represents the lived experiences of people in our communities,” said CAIR’s Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry. “We must take a stand against hate bias and unconstitutional policies and actions that threaten our civil rights and the very fabric of our democracy.”
Among the key findings of the data:
- The highest number of documented cases, 46.8 percent, were categorized as discrimination-based incidents. This supports findings in CAIR National’s civil rights report ‘Constitutional Crackdowns’ released last week.
- First Amendment concerns, such as incidents related to freedom of speech and expression, accounted for 21.2 percent of documented cases
- Bullying incidents affecting students in educational institutions accounted for 15.6 percent of cases
- Hate Bias incidents, in some instances correlating with local and statewide anti-genocide rallies, accounted for 6.7 percent of documented cases
- The sharpest uptick in the number of complaints, incidents and requests for assistance occurred during January – March of the academic year when the Maryland General Assembly was in session, and during which CAIR advocated to pass HJ2 Ceasefire Resolution among other bills.
- The data reflects incidents and complaints from particularly contentious local and statewide anti-genocide rallies and hearings
- Viewpoint discrimination was a significant factor in many cases as compared to religious discrimination
In 2024, CAIR offices nationwide received a total of 8,658 complaints—the highest number ever recorded since the organization’s first civil rights report in 1996. This marks a 7.4 percent increase from the 8,061 complaints received in 2023, signaling a worsening climate of Islamophobia.
SEE: 2025 Civil Rights Report: Unconstitutional Crackdowns
The majority of documented incidents in Maryland occurred during the first quarter of the 2024 academic year, coinciding with significant legislative activity where CAIR supported various bills, including the ceasefire resolution. Students advocating for human rights faced severe repression and harassment, exemplified by a case involving two University of Maryland students who received death threats following doxxing attacks.
CAIR also celebrates noteworthy civil rights victories in Maryland in 2024, including:
- Advocating for educators in Montgomery and Anne Arundel County Public Schools facing discrimination based on political viewpoints.
- A legal victory for University of Maryland students, protecting their rights to organize a campus vigil.
- Securing religious accommodations for Friday prayer services for Muslim inmates at Prince George’s Correctional Center.
“While we celebrate the victories, the challenges are ongoing,” Chaudry added.
“We call on educational administrators, lawmakers, and all stakeholders to develop meaningful policies that uphold our communities’ rights and dignity.”
CAIR noted that underreporting remains a significant challenge. According to the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, over 80 percent of hate-bias incidents experienced by American Muslims go unreported. This suggests that the actual number of incidents is likely much higher than documented.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062;
CAIR Maryland Outreach Coordinator Kimberly Syuardi, ksyuardi@cair.com, 202-850-9293; CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857; CAIR Research and Advocacy Manager Farah Afify, (202) 742-6410, fafify@cair.com; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com