"When there's a war in Iraq, hate crime in the United States sort of pales in comparison," said Mehdi Bozorgmehr, noting one of the more recent obstacles faced by groups trying to rally Middle Eastern Americans to their own defense in the aftermath of 9/11. Bozorgmehr was guest lecturer at a public meeting of a UCLA sociology course on April 9, 2007, where he shared results of federally funded research on the backlash produced by 9/11 against Muslim Americans, Middle Easterners, South Asians, and individuals seen as "look-alikes." By a tabulation he cited, there were well over 600 hate crimes and at least four murders nationally in the days immediately following 9/11 that could be connected with the terrorist attacks. [Link]