Karl Rove Wrongly States American Muslims ‘By and Large’ Weren’t Attacked After 9/11

Top George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove has falsely claimed there were “by and large” no attacks on American Muslims in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks—despite 2001 having the record number of Islamophobic attacks in U.S. history. The 9/11 attacks set off the largest wave of anti-Muslim violence in the history of the nation, with 481 documented hate crimes targeting Muslims and Middle Easterners recorded in 2001 alone. “There were concerns there would be attacks on American Muslims in retaliation for our country being attacked by Islamic extremists and yet that by and large didn't happen,” Rove told Fox & Friends on the 18th anniversary of the attacks. Rove claimed that the real story of the aftermath of 9/11 was one of “courage, determination, and unity.”