Islamophobia

Hate speech harms, and it kills. It is the match waiting to be lighted by extremists on either side. The question is, what will the silent majority on both the Western and Muslim sides do now to ensure that nothing like the violence we have seen in the last week is ever repeated again?

Since the events of September 11, 2001, Muslims in this country have been under siege. While at least 700,000 Muslims have been interviewed by law enforcement, the story of what Muslims are going through has not really been quantified.

Hate never limits itself to one stop. It keeps looking for the new targets. Just as KKK targets were not limited to African-Americans as it attacked Catholics, Jews and other immigrants, the current phase of hate, ethnic bigotry and religious intolerance is looking for new targets.

After the 9/11 attacks, at the request of churches, Sound Vision issued a guide on how they could help their Muslim neighbors during that difficult time. Since then, we have not felt the need to do that again - until now.

Islamophobia like other forms of racism and religious or ethnic intolerance, is not the problem of its victims It is a societal problem. Unless we as a nation speak out against it, educate others about it, and fight, it will continue to perpetuate.

We destroyed our honor in the Muslim world with Abu Ghraib. Now, we have completely obliterated any respect for us by allowing our military officers to abuse the Islamic holy book. No wonder even Pakistan could not but express its outrage at the abuse of the Quran.

Islamophobia is today's accepted form of racism. It will require Muslims to fight hard against it. Muslims are neither solely responsible for its creation, nor will they be able to fight it on their own. It is a collective responsibility for all bridge-builders of the world.