Oxford, Ohio
Jews remained by far the greatest target of religious-based hate crimes in the United States in 2004, according to a recently-released report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The FBI recorded 1,374 incidents of religion-oriented hate crimes in 2004, and 954 of those were directed at Jews.
“This report always serves as a wake-up call that hate crime remains a national problem in America,” said Barbara B. Balser, national chairperson of the Anti-Defamation League, a group which aims to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens.
The report from the FBI was based on data from 12,711 local law enforcement agencies nationwide, representing 86 per cent of the U.S. population. The data also indicated that crimes against Muslims have leveled off since a high point of 481 in 2001 following the Sept. 11 attacks. There have been around 150 anti-Islamic incidents in the past three years, according to the FBI.
The FBI report said that 57 incidents had been committed against Roman Catholics; 38 against Protestants; 156 against Muslims; 163 against other religions or religious groups and six against atheists or agnostics.