Dear Non-Muslim Allies, by Sofia Ali-Khan
No one should have to feel this sort of anxiety in America 2015. Or anywhere, for that matter. We had a local Islamic centre sent a death threat via e-mail recently. In Philadelphia, someone desecrated a mosque with a severed pig's head. In my apartment complex, there are many Southern and Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and African immigrants. I'm sure there are Muslims among them. I embrace the diversity of my area. I make a point to say hello and make conversation. Why should I be threatened by the sight of a foreigner because of the actions of a relative few? I don't fear men of European descent just because statistically they are more likely to be mass shooters in our country. But put in the concept of the other, alien culture, and suddenly we're back to the years of trying to keep the Irish, the Eastern Europeans, the Armenians, and the Jews out of our country. That's wrong. The US was founded on the principle of immigrants seeking a better life in a new world. Unless you are completely of American Indian heritage, if you are American you are the result of immigration. So I just don't get the xenophobia I've been seeing. It's wrong. Completely and utterly.
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