May 20, 2025
by Wilfredo Amr Ruiz and Samir Kakli
Florida is facing an alarming rise in Islamophobia — one that is reaching unprecedented levels nationwide, according to the findings of the 2025 CAIR Civil Rights Report: Unconstitutional Crackdowns.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, which has a strong presence in Florida, reports it received 8,658 civil rights complaints in 2024 — the highest number ever recorded since it began reporting in 1996. That marks a 7.4% increase from the previous year.
Here in Florida, the numbers are even more troubling. Civil rights complaints have risen by 22%, nearly three times the national rate. Even more disturbing: for the first time in CAIR-Florida’s 24-year history, the leading cause of complaints is viewpoint discrimination.
Many of these complaints, which spiked following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and Israel’s subsequent bombing of Gaza, reflect a dangerous trend: individuals who criticize Israeli government policies, express solidarity with Palestinians or condemn alleged war crimes in Gaza are being accused of antisemitism or even terrorism.
These accusations are not only defamatory — they’re dangerous.
In Florida, the consequences have been severe. Peaceful student protesters have faced disciplinary action. Dozens of physicians have lost their jobs. Attorneys have been dismissed from law firms. Others have been doxxed — had their private information maliciously shared online to intimidate or silence them.
We must recognize the human toll. Like many Israeli-American families who split time between homes in the U.S. and Israel, hundreds of Palestinian-American families in Florida live between here and Palestine.
The ongoing war in Gaza has left many of them grieving the loss of fathers, mothers, siblings, nephews and nieces. Others have watched loved ones maimed. But in today’s climate of censorship and retaliation, their grief is often unheard. Many fear for their safety, livelihoods and businesses if they speak out.
This is not a Muslim issue. It is a civil rights issue. And it affects peace advocates and civil liberties organizations of all backgrounds.
I, Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, write this not only as a Muslim civil rights leader, but also as a proud U.S. military veteran. I served in the Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps and later in the Chaplain Corps. There, I wore the same uniform as Christian priests, Jewish rabbis, Muslim imams and others who served our diverse military community. We stood together to defend the U.S. Constitution — all of it.
We believe that criticism of a government’s policies — including those of the state of Israel — is not antisemitism. Conflating the two does a disservice to the Jewish community, whose legitimate experiences with antisemitism risk being diluted when political critique is mislabeled as hate.
Then, on Feb. 15, our community was shaken when an Israeli man allegedly opened fire on a father and son on Miami Beach simply because he believed them to be Palestinian, police said. Mordechai Brafman, 27, was charged with attempted murder and faces hate crime charges punishable by life in prison.
To this day, there has been no public statement from Miami Beach or state leaders reassuring Palestinian or Arab residents of their safety. It’s as if simply uttering the words “Palestinian” or “Arab” has become taboo.
Every year, we honor the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We commemorate the very rights now under attack — the right to protest, to oppose war, to call for peace, to boycott and to dissent. These are constitutional rights. Sacred rights. And they will not be silenced easily.
Despite the current challenges, there is hope. Across Florida and beyond, people of all backgrounds are rising in solidarity. They are standing tall — peacefully and unapologetically — to defend justice and civil liberties for all.
They know that silence is not an option.
