WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The distaste of Muslim immigrants was already present in the United States before Islamic terrorists killed 130 individuals in Paris on November 13, advocacy group The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"All it took was a trigger like the Paris terrorist attacks that set off violent reactions that targeted American Muslims because the ground had been laid for months and years prior to the trigger," Hooper said.
Hooper’s comments come after Islamist militants killed 130 people and injured more than 360 in coordinated attacks in seven venues in Paris. The Islamic State, also known as Daesh, claimed responsibility for the attacks.
"It’s been moving toward the mainstream since September 11, 2001, but it’s accelerated in recent months with the presidential campaign getting into high gear," he added.
Hooper criticized Republican presidential candidates such as Donald Trump, who recently called for a complete ban on Muslim immigrants to the United States.
"They’re pandering to the lowest common denominator within their party, and doing so on the back of the American Muslim community," he pointed out.
Trump has made controversial statements about Muslim as well as Mexican immigrants. In November, Trump claimed that Muslims celebrated when the terrorist attacks on the United States took place on September 11, 2001.
