After 9/11, my high school cafeteria split in half. Arab-Americans on one side, everybody else on the other. I don't know why, but I felt like I had to choose a side. I chose to sit with nobody.
Growing up in Dearborn, Mich., I lived in a city where 40 percent of the population is from the Mediterranean and many are of the Muslim faith. It's been a unique experience and one that has shaped my views on the Middle East, the war in Iraq and the way that we treat our own citizens after tragedy. Now, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) is openly endorsing racist U.S. policies in the aftermath of Boston, even though most of this country's Muslims are not Mediterranean. I need to stand up for the citizens in my home town.
Despite many losing relatives in the conflicts in the Middle East, in addition to sons and daughters who chose to fight after 9/11 and translate for our troops, Arab Americans are rarely given the respect they deserve. Salt is constantly added to the wound when Arab Americans are asked, "Where are you from?" Many of their families have been in this area since the 1800s. No matter their sacrifice or heritage, it never stops visits from crazies like Fla. pastor Terry Jones and Fox News reporters ranting about Sharia law.
We're also a community that has forged strong bonds and made me believe that peace on earth is possible. Imams, Rabbis, Christian priests, ministers and reverends get together as one group for all kinds of volunteerism, helping the poor and needy in metro-Detroit as one group. I've always believed that if we ever find peace in the Middle East, it'll start with Dearborn.
At the same time, we can't get past the fact that radical Islam is a problem. I think that goes without saying. So is radical Christianity, Ultra-Orthodox Judaism and any other belief system that doesn't serve to protect human life. Yet, because Muslims and Arabs are an extremely small and powerless minority in this country, people feel comfortable attacking them, even when they're not really Muslims.
Every time one of these attacks happen, I hear the insecure pleas of Muslim Americans trying to reassure others that "Not all Muslims are like that" and "Islam is about peace. Those aren't Muslims." They are continually shut out of the discussion and alienated for trying to say it. I don't think Christians felt the need to explain they aren't terrorists after Waco or the Oklahoma City bombing. We've also lost more American lives to Southern rebellion and German aggression than to anyone in the Middle East. Why is it that we accept this open animosity toward Muslims?
The double standard must end. If we're going to act like a country that values freedom of religion and speech, a country that doesn't discriminate on the basis of race, then we need to start by holding our politicians accountable. Representatives like Peter King need to be called exactly what they are: racists. With that label should come all the shame of the extremism that they are espousing. The truth is, it's people like Peter King who would strip away the American freedoms, and it's not because of terrorism. It's because of their weakness, ignorance and fear.