President Obama launched a strongly worded defense of the Muslim community against bigotry and ignorance at his final State of the Union address. 

We appreciate the commander-in- chief’s support.

His words come at a critical time for our nation and community. Muslim and Arab Americans have become proverbial punching bags for right wing politicians who want to appeal to their fanatically xenophobic base.

But with the gratitude, we must remind the president that actions matter more than words.

“When politicians insult Muslims, whether abroad or our fellow citizens, when a mosque is vandalized or a kid is called names, that doesn’t make us safer,” Obama said. “That’s not telling it like it is. It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals. It betrays who we are as a country.”

However, this administration’s policies have not been kind to Muslims at home or abroad.

Domestically, national intelligence agencies continued with the entrapment policies they started during the Bush presidency. Federal law enforcement agents are luring young Muslim men into providing some sort of materiel support to a designated terrorist organization in a fictitious scenario. A media fiasco follows, sparking fear and hatred of the Muslim community. Meanwhile racist detectives and prosecutors get convictions at the expense of Muslim Americans, fueling the bigotry that Obama condemned on Tuesday. 

This happened here in Southeast Michigan, where a Dearborn man was convinced by an informant to join Hezbollah against ISIS in the war in Syria.

In 2013, a federal document was leaked, revealing that Washington sees Dearborn as home to the second largest number of suspected terrorists in the United States per capita. This was proof of an official policy of profiling.

Also, Obama failed to reform the ridiculous No Fly list, which robs — mostly Muslim — Americans of the freedom to enjoy air travel.

Spying on Muslim communities under dubious programs, such as Countering Violent Extremism, actually became more prominent during Obama’s tenure. Despite repeated promises, the president has not closed Guantanamo Bay prison.

When thousands of American citizens were trapped in a war zone in Yemen, the president did not fulfill his Constitutional duties to bring them to the safety of their American homes under the Assignment of Emergency Preparedness Responsibilities executive order. Instead, Washington supported Saudi Arabia’s vicious bombing campaign in the impoverished country.

As for Muslims who are not American, Obama continued his predecessors’ imperialist policies, killing civilians with drone strikes in the name of targeting terrorists. The president also continued his support of Israel’s brutal policy against the Palestinian people, despite his feud with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Obama might be a better president to our community than most mainstream politicians would be. But the truth remains that he has not treated Muslims with the constitutional and human respect they deserve. 

A message to the community

Martin Luther King Day will fall on Monday, Jan. 18. We ask our readers to volunteer and give back to their communities and country on this grand occasion. Dr. King said, “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” We urge you to show up at the local homeless shelter, church, mosque, synagogue, college campus or social services organization to do something meaningful for the greater society. Volunteering is a core American value, just like tolerance and acceptance. We need to embrace it.