JEDDAH — Sheikh Muhammad Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League (MWL), has deplored the reported surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans in the United States. He expressed his concerns over the recent racist attacks in the US on his official Twitter account. "I am saddened by the distressing rise of attacks on Asian Americans in recent weeks. Hateful rhetoric inevitably leads to violence, and we must not allow racists to achieve their evil objectives," Sheikh Al-Issa said in his tweet. "I have always greatly admired the United States for its warm embrace of diversity, which makes the rising hate even more heartbreaking. We must come together without hatred or bigotry. We all must live by the values of tolerance, compassion and respect," the MWL chief added. Sheikh Al-Issa's remarks come amid a growing number of hate crimes against Asians in the US. Shootings that killed six Asian women in Atlanta last Tuesday night have sparked fears in the Asian American community. US President Joe Biden has also expressed strong concern about hate crimes against Asians. According to Stop AAPI Hate, a private organization comprising Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, there were 3,795 hate crimes against Asians from March 19, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021, with 503 of them in January and February, Nikkei Asia reported last week. A survey conducted by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino found that even as the number of hate crimes in 16 cities, including New York and Los Angeles, fell 7 percent on the year to 1,717 in 2020, crimes against Asians jumped 150 percent.
