Safeguarding Religious Freedom: Addressing the Challenges Facing Muslim Americans Today

By Maha Elgenaidi, Founder and Executive Director (Bio)

May 28, 2025

New Federal Commission Aims to Advance Religious Liberty

On May 1, President Donald Trump established the Religious Liberty Commission, with the primary mission of protecting and promoting religious freedom across the United States. Its goals include:

• Reporting on current challenges to religious liberty.
• Developing programs that celebrate America’s religious diversity and ensure respect for all faiths.
• Advising the White House Faith Office and Domestic Policy Council on actions to safeguard religious freedoms.
• Enhancing public understanding of the constitutional foundations of religious liberty.

The Commission reflects the administration’s stated commitment to ensuring that religious individuals and institutions can participate in public life without fear of discrimination or hostility. It seeks to address growing concerns that certain laws or policies may erode America’s historic commitment to religious liberty.

To support its work, the Commission has formed three advisory boards composed of Religious Leaders, Lay Leaders, and Legal Experts. On May 16, members were appointed to these boards. I was encouraged to see Muslim Americans represented through Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Ismail Royer, and Sameera Munshi.

Religious Liberty Concerns Facing Muslim Americans

Muslim Americans today face a wide range of religious liberty challenges—legal, political, and social—that affect their ability to freely practice their faith without discrimination, exclusion, or government overreach.

• A 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that 82% of American adults believe Muslims face at least some discrimination, with 56% saying they face “a lot.”
• In 2023 and 2024, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) received over 8,000 complaints each year, the highest in its history—15% involved workplace discrimination, and 9% were school-related.
• According to the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), nearly 1 in 2 Muslim students face bullying, and in 2024, 68% reported being harassed by someone in a position of authority at school.
• In 2009, Muslims filed 25% of all workplace discrimination claims, despite being only about 2% of the workforce.

In schools and workplaces, Muslim Americans are often denied time off for prayer or Eid, face discrimination for wearing hijab or beards, and encounter a lack of halal food options. Government surveillance and profiling have led to Muslims being placed on watchlists without due process, along with unjust travel restrictions. Efforts to build mosques are frequently obstructed by local zoning laws, which are applied unevenly compared to those for other faith groups. In academic and public discourse, Muslim students and speakers may find their religious or political expressions censored or mischaracterized as extremist. Alarmingly, religious liberty laws—intended to protect faith communities—have sometimes been exploited to justify discrimination against Muslims. In prisons and detention centers, reports of denied halal meals, restricted access to religious materials, and even solitary confinement for requesting accommodations further highlight systemic barriers. Anti-Sharia legislation in various states, often framed as a defense of American values, effectively targets Muslim practices and contributes to a climate of suspicion. Meanwhile, hate crimes—such as mosque vandalism, threats during Ramadan or Eid, and harassment during prayer—continue to endanger Muslim communities.

These concerns have been extensively documented and addressed by respected Muslim organizations working tirelessly to uphold the civil and religious rights of their communities, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), Muslim Advocates,  Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and EmgageUSA.

Drawing on my experience leading religious literacy programs and trainings in cultural competency, inclusion, and belonging, I offer the following recommendations to enhance religious liberty protections for Muslim Americans and other faith communities:

1. Strengthen Anti-Discrimination Laws in Workplaces
   • Update civil rights laws to provide clearer protections for religious practices in workplaces, schools, and public services.
   • Include explicit protection for religious dress (e.g., hijab, turban, yarmulke, beard) and Jummah and Shabbat observances).
   • Require training for HR personnel and managers on how to recognize and accommodate religious diversity.
2. Strengthen Anti-Discrimination Laws in Schools (K-12 and Higher Education)
   • Ensure students have the right to pray, wear religious attire, or express religious views in class assignments without being penalized, so long as it is not disruptive.
   • Mandate policies for religious accommodation (e.g., allowing students to make up exams or assignments missed for religious holidays like Eid or Yom Kippur).
   • Clarify that protections under Title VI and Title IX extend to religious identities when they intersect with race, ethnicity, or national origin (e.g., protecting Muslim, Sikh, and Jewish students from harassment).
3. Strengthen Anti-Discrimination Laws in Public Institutions such as Hospitals, Government Offices, Prisons, etc.
   • Update public accommodation laws to ensure that religious dietary needs (e.g., halal, kosher) are met in government-funded institutions such as prisons, hospitals, and shelters.
   • Require chaplaincy services in correctional facilities and hospitals to accommodate a range of faiths.
   • Ensure training for public employees (e.g., police, social workers) on engaging with diverse religious communities respectfully and lawfully.
4. Enhance Law Enforcement Training
   • Require cultural competency and religious sensitivity training focused on Muslim and other religious communities.
5. Expand the Civil Rights Divisions of Federal Agencies in Religious Liberty
   • Increase staffing and funding specifically for cases involving religious discrimination or profiling, including at airports, schools, workplaces, and law enforcement agencies.
   • Mandate regular public reporting on how religious discrimination complaints are handled, broken down by religion, setting (e.g., workplace, school, government), and resolution.
6. Invest in Public Education and Awareness
   • Launch national campaigns promoting religious diversity and inclusion.

As this new Commission begins its work, I offer my full support and deep appreciation to the Muslim leaders appointed to the advisory boards—Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Ismail Royer, and Sameera Munshi—for stepping into this critical role. While we may come from different perspectives—as reflected in the rebuttal I wrote to an article on abortion by Ismail Royer—your voices bring much-needed insight and experience to the national conversation on religious freedom. I encourage you to continue advocating for the rights of all faith communities, including the Muslim community, with courage and integrity. Your leadership will be vital in ensuring that the principles of religious liberty are not only preserved but meaningfully realized for every American.