Northwestern accused of using questionable CAIR data in anti-discrimination programming
Northwestern University incorporates allegedly unverified data from the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) into its mandatory training for students and faculty.
The Washington Free Beacon notes that the different datasets used give the impression that anti-Muslim hate crimes were more than five times greater than those of anti-Semitic hate crimes.
One of the nation’s top private universities incorporates allegedly unverified data from the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) into its mandatory training for students and faculty.
The Washington Free Beacon reports that Northwestern University’s anti-discrimination training uses figures that indicate instances of “Islamophobia” are larger than those of anti-Semitism. The training is also said to discuss “anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian biases,” but omits anti-Semitic biases.
[RELATED: UMich hit with civil rights complaint by CAIR over mishandling of ‘Islamophobia’]
The outlet notes that the different datasets used give the impression that anti-Muslim hate crimes were more than five times greater than those of anti-Semitic hate crimes. Data for anti-Semitic totals were pulled from official FBI statistics, while those for anti-Muslim counts came from CAIR’s allegedly unverified numbers.
As noted by the Free Beacon, anti-Semitic hate crimes increased from 1,122 to 1,832 between 2022 and 2023, while anti-Muslim hate crimes rose from 158 to 236 during that time, as reported by the FBI. For anti-Muslim incidents, however, the Free Beacon reports that Northwestern pulled from CAIR’s questionable statistics, which allegedly include self-reported complaints.
”By one account, there was a 56 percent increase from 2022, with 8,061 complaints reported nationwide in 2023,” the training video says, apparently pointing to CAIR’s figures. “It has been noted that this is even higher than what occurred during the travel ban imposed by a presidential executive order in 2017.”
Northwestern’s training does mention anti-Zionism, but appears to downplay its connections to anti-Semitism, according to the Free Beacon.
”There’s heated debate about the distinction between anti-Zionism, opposition to the existence of the state of Israel as a Jewish state, and anti-Semitism,” the university training notes. “Some scholars and members of Jewish communities hold that opposition to Zionism is not anti-Semitic.”
”Others say that anti-Zionism can and often does take anti-Semitic forms,” it continues. “Accordingly, at Northwestern, students, staff and faculty cannot be excluded from activities or spaces because they are Jewish or pro-Zionist.”
CAIR has been at the forefront of defending anti-Israel student protesters, especially in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks against the Jewish state.
The organization recently added Stanford University to its “hostile campus” list due to its handling of pro-Palestine student demonstrators.
”Stanford’s actions set a dangerous precedent for free speech on campus,” one CAIR official stated. “By selectively enforcing rules against students and faculty advocating for Palestinian rights, the university has fostered an inequitable environment that discourages student activism—a cornerstone of university life and social progress.”