President Joe Biden’s administration is privately developing a national strategy to combat Islamophobia, according to people briefed on the matter, as it faces skepticism from many Muslim Americans for its staunch support of Israel’s military assault on Hamas in Gaza.
The White House originally was expected to announce its plans to develop the strategy last week when Biden met with Muslim leaders, but that was delayed, three people said. Two said the delay was due partly to concerns from Muslim Americans that the administration lacked credibility on the issue given its robust backing of Israel’s military, whose strikes against Hamas militants have killed thousands of civilians in Gaza. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the White House plans.
The launch of the anti-Islamophobia effort has been anticipated for months after the administration in May released a national strategy to combat antisemitism that made passing reference to countering hatred against Muslims.
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