Islamophobia, the prejudice or fear towards the religion of Islam or Muslims, is rapidly becoming a real threat to our country. Unchallenged, this bigotry will continue to grow. American Muslims fear the race-fueled responses to recent attacks by ISIS and the San Bernardino shootings. Right now the American Muslim community is especially vulnerable to isolation.

After discovering that the San Bernardino shooting was committed by a Muslim couple, many Americans reasoned that the idea that this was not just these individual’s crime but instead blamed all Muslims. The couple had no affiliation with their local Mosque and acted independently of ISIS. Despite these facts, some leaders and politicians have infused fear and hatred into the minds of Americans who are susceptible to the scrutiny of the Muslim community.

For example, presidential candidate Donald Trump first announced that he would implement a system to register and track American Muslims. Later, he proposed a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. Trump is not introducing a new sentiment but rather deriving from one that is already wide spread in the states.

Before Trump’s announcement, presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz called for accepting only Christian Syrian refugees into the U.S. In a recent poll taken by Public Policy Polling, 40% of one southern state answered that Islam should be outlawed. The rising rate of fear in the U.S. has resulted in a rising rate of hatred, repeated violence, and threats to American Muslims.

The shooting was committed by two Muslim people and cannot be projected onto the millions of other innocent American Muslims.

This environment of fear is not new to the United States. After every Islam-affiliated incident in the past and present, the entire American Muslim community suffers the effects. With the radical ISIS group spreading terror throughout the world, it is especially important to be wary of isolating our Muslim community.

How can the Williston Community refuse and refute this pattern of Islamophobia?

Mr. Peter Gunn, Government and Economics teacher at the Williston Northampton School, explains that “As a society we are going through a time period where a lot of people are nervous about their economic and social standing and when you combine that with an event like this [San Bernardino], it elevates the amount of hostility”.

So, how can the Williston community help support Muslims and reject Islamophobia? Gunn advises, “Perhaps providing some information so people can understand [the separation between religion and the distorted use of religion], if someone is a terrorist who claims to be acting in the name of Islam or ISIS, we tend to collapse that into Islam and the Muslim world more generally and I think that reflects a degree of lack of knowledge”.

Fear and ignorance are a dangerous duo when paired together. So, understanding what Islam is and what it truly stands for, and then making an effort to learn about the situation, from the right sources, is reliable method of contesting the negative connotations that are plaguing the Muslim community.