By Kevin Aldridge
The Cincinnati Enquirer

New hate crime statistics released by the FBI don't accurately reflect the level of backlash Muslims say they've received as a result of Sept. 11, according to a local Muslim leader.

Hate crimes surged against people of Islamic faith and those of Middle Eastern ethnicity in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the FBI reported. Incidents targeting Muslims - previously the least common involving religious bias - increased from just 28 in 2000 to 481 in 2001 - a jump of 1,600 percent.

"We hear stories of intimidation from people on a daily basis, whether it's at the store, renting a car or walking down the street," said Majed Dabdoub, president of the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati. "People receive threatening phone calls or e-mails, and they are scared.

"The authorities are reporting these things, but they are not doing much about them."

Mr. Dabdoub said many Muslims feel the news media have helped contribute to the recent rise in hate crimes by spreading false information and perpetuating negative stereotypes about Islam.

A local radio station recently spent three hours "bashing Islam and Muslims," he said. The program was so disturbing that several area Muslims met with the station's manager and demanded an apology.

"There are some crazy people out there. And when people who are ignorant about Islam get this bad information from the media, they just react," Mr. Dabdoub said. "The fire is already there, that is why it is important to educate people properly."

Overall crime motivated by hate rose just over 17 percent from 2000 to 2001 - from 8,063 to 9,730 incidents. That jump is partially a result of an increase in the number of law enforcement agencies supplying hate crime data to the FBI annually.

There were more than 12,000 victims of hate crimes in 2001, 46 percent of them targeted because of their race. More than 3,700 African-Americans were the victims of hate crimes, by far the largest single group.

More than 5,100 whites committed acts of hate against another race in 2001, according to the FBI, while 1,157 blacks committed hate crimes during the same period.

There were 477 hate crimes reported by law enforcement agencies in Ohio during 2001. Of those incidents, there were 281 reported cases of ethnic intimidation, 104 assaults (both simple and aggravated) and 77 cases of vandalism or property damage.

Earlier this month, four white teen-agers were arrested and charged with ethnic intimidation and aggravated trespassing for burning a cross in the front yard of an Oxford Township home. A Butler County judge sentenced the boys, ages 14-16, to probation, temporarily suspended their driver's licenses, and required them to make donations to a tolerance fund and pay court costs.

The judge also ordered the teens to track any contact they have with African-Americans, make an effort to have more contact with African-Americans and write a paper about what they have learned.

Butler County Sheriff Harold "Don" Gabbard said he wanted to send a strong message that such behavior would not be tolerated.

E-mail kaldridge@enquirer.com