Charles C. Haynes: Make America safe again: Reject Islamophobia

  Two weeks ago, three men assaulted a 19-year-old American Muslim in Astoria, Queens. One suspect shouted “Arab” and punched the victim twice in the face. A second screamed “ISIS” and approached with a metal pipe. When a bystander appeared, the three suspects fled the scene.

  What’s especially alarming about this incident is how commonplace such hate crimes have become across the United States. Attacks on American Muslims and Muslim institutions have surged over the past year – a surge that can be directly correlated to anti-Muslim rhetoric in the 2016 presidential campaign, according to a study released by the Bridge Initiative at Georgetown University.