US Muslims face a challenge |
US Muslims are facing a big challenge from anti-Muslim rhetoric of Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz with emotions ranging from shock, especially in the wake of the Brussels bombings when Mr. Cruz called to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized. Most of the 3 million American-Muslims of widely diverse backgrounds, about 1% of the population, live in integrated neighborhoods. If Muslims do cluster in certain neighborhoods, as in Queens, New York, it is based more on ethnicity than on religion. They cannot be breeding grounds for ISIS. Besides, Muslims have been at the forefront in foiling terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Yes, while the threat of Islamophobia is real, it is not stopping Muslims from engaging in serious self-analyses. So, the US should curb their excessive reverence for imams but respect Muslims at large. Of late, many US Muslims condemn religious chauvinism. The US needs to shed their victimization.
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