Islamophobia is a curse that must be confronted.

Why is that Islam becomes the issue when heinous acts are committed by its adherents while Islam is never the reason behind the thousands of acts of kindness performed by Muslims? Because Islam is misunderstood and because there are people who perpetuate falsehoods about Islam.

While Islam-bashers in Congress, the media, academia and other circles are sometimes careful to claim that their hostility to Muslims or Arabs or Islam is limited to the "extremists," the goal and the impact of these campaigns is, nonetheless, to demonize entire countries and communities. As Islamophobic views find increased acceptance in public discourse, there is also a rising danger of growing public acceptance of attacks – including legal discrimination, denial of rights, violent assaults and more – on U.S. citizens and residents who happen to be Muslim, Arab or Arab-American. Add to this the potential for financial gains some of these pundits have reaped from publishing books that question the loyalty and doubts the patriotism of American Muslims.

Most recently, we have the case of four Republican congressional representatives calling for an investigation of the Council on American Islamic Relations for its purported "spies" either working or interning on Capitol Hill. One of the representatives, Republican Sue Myrick of North Carolina, in fact wrote the forward for "Muslim Mafia," a recent book warning of the forthcoming Muslim threat to America.

Certainly this crusade reflects a deeply rooted racist demonization of those targeted communities. But it portends greater dangers beyond the threat to those communities. It threatens the social fabric of this country by making racist demagoguery a legitimate part of public discourse.

There is an understandable impulse to just to look the other way at these ludicrous assertions and to dismiss the grandiose mobilization claims as coming from just one more fringe right-wing nut job. But such a response, I would argue, would be a serious lapse in judgment. Not because the claims are anything other than preposterous, but rather because there is far too much public belief in these preposterous assertions for anyone concerned to so carelessly write them off. And with the clear links between Islamophobic and prejudicial treatment of certain American citizens, the implications cannot be easily dismissed.

Admittedly, we have honorable politicians who have steadfastly confronted the bias exhibited by their colleagues, Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson, and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., among them. To the spies charge, Conyers said, "Let me remind all my colleagues that patriotic Americans of all races, religions and beliefs have the right — and the responsibility — to participate in our political process, including by volunteering to work in congressional offices."

Islam has been a positive part of the American mosaic for more than 200 years. It shall remain so for the next 200.

Aref Assaf

Denville, Nov. 10

The writer is president of the American Arab Forum, a Paterson-based think-tank specializing in Arab and Muslim affairs.