A candlelight vigil at the University of Michigan-Dearborn for victims of terror, Nov. 23. Photo: Merinda Valley

We live in critical times for our community, country and the world.

Last week, terrorism struck mercilessly over three continents. Our homelands are suffering. Many Arab countries are turning into failed states ripped apart by war, sectarianism and terror. Determined thugs with weapons and resources are killing civilians and perverting the name of Islam, a religion that was once the global source of knowledge and enlightenment at a time when Europe was living in the Dark Ages.

A Dearborn resident was killed in the Borj el-Barajne bombing last week. Many local Arabs consider the stricken neighborhood home. Similarly, Iraqi, Syrian and Yemeni Americans have lost loved ones and suffered from the murderous wrath of ISIS. But our suffering is not noticed by the American mainstream.

Instead, Islamophobic media networks have falsely associated our community with the terrorism that is targeting our families and friends in the Arab World.

Americans are scared that the horror they witnessed in Paris may cross the Atlantic and reach the United States. As fellow Americans, we are scared, too.

However, our fear is doubled. We are scared of terrorists who will not spare us— and have not spared us; we are also scared of some of our misguided fellow Americans, who are turning their fear into hatred for Arabs and Muslims.

We fear the ignorance may turn violent, the verbal assaults may turn into hate crimes and the satire and misconceptions about sharia law may turn into a serious backlash against our neighborhoods, schools and houses of worship.

We have a responsibility to protect what we have built over the decades. Everything we say reflects on the rest of us. Spreading rumors and amplifying fears does not benefit our cause.

Fanatic sectarianism is a driving force for ISIS and its apocalyptic aims. Every sectarian statement made in the community boosts extremists’ quest.

This is a time for unity. 

There is a flawed rhetoric in the community that some people can distance themselves from the extremists by saying they are not Sunni. First off, ISIS is not Sunni. Terror’s religion is evil and destruction, not any form of Islam (or Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism or any other faith, for that matter). All mainstream Sunni Muslim scholars across the world have denounced the terrorist group.

Those who invoke sect overlook the crimes of ISIS against Sunnis in Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. They also unfairly vilify their Sunni friends and neighbors.

This rationale weakens the community and rationalizes bigotry against all Muslims. It is divisive and wrong. It also doesn’t work. Proponents of Islamophobia are White supremacists. They do not care if you’re Sunni or Shi’a or even Muslim. 

In 2012, a domestic terrorist killed seven worshippers at Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, mistaking them for Muslims. On Sunday, an Ethiopian American Uber driver was attacked in North Carolina because the passenger thought he was a Muslim.

Islamophobia knows no logic. Hating an entire group of people because of their faith and national origin stems from attitudes of racial supremacy. We should not try to explain it or excuse bigotry.

This community cannot afford to further victimize itself. We should not apologize for the terror that harms us more than anybody else. We should combat it by showing our fellow Americans the best image of ourselves. Let us educate people about who we are by keeping our communities open and leaving out ethnic bubbles to expose the rest of society to our culture.

Social media is powerful, but it is a double-edged sword. Islamophobic trolls are fanning the flames of hatred on the Internet. But more and more non-Muslims are speaking out against prejudice. Our community should use social media to send a positive message to the world about what we stand for.

If we preserve our unity and openness, we can replace fear and anger with love and compassion.