Per survey of Chapman University, College of Art and Humanities, done in 2016 on what Americans fear the most, Islamophobia (41%) came second after government corruption (60.6%) on top of the list. If you are living in America and you are suffering from Islamophobia, you have every right to do so. I am a Muslim-American and I, too, am afraid of any kind of terrorist act. Most Muslims are terrified of another attack anywhere around the world which causes death of innocent civilians and massive destruction. It’s disgraceful, disgusting, humiliating to witness atrocities on behalf of my religion. I condemn all acts of violence, but I’ll need to see how real is our fear and how to dissolve it, we need to understand it, recognize it, and take practical actions so we can live in peace. I understand that fear is the enemy to begin with. Using fear to control people has worked marvelously throughout the history. This election was a good indicator of this fact. As the survey showed, more people feared the corruption in government, so they voted against it which made the selection of a less feared person possible. Fear is man’s strongest emotion that influences decisions. The media promotes fear and creates a dangerous world for us. For more than three decades we have all witnessed killing, destruction, devastation, injuries, and crisis in the world, especially the Islamic countries, on all our news outlets. The war on terrorism is the number one reason for uprooting Muslims around the world. Most Muslims immigrated to safer areas in search of a peaceful place to live, work and raise their children and most are just doing that. Per a study, Wikipedia reports that roughly 1% of the US adult population are Muslims. Holly Yan, of CNN, writes in an article titled, ‘The Truth About Muslims in America,’ that Muslims are roughly 3.3 million people, live across United States, have higher education, greater gender equality and care about their religion as much as Christians. Now, it is time to study this fear closely. If we fear our death or injury or fear the death or injury of our loved ones from a Muslim terrorist attack, look at this data which is reported on the same article: “From September 11, 2001, until the end of 2014, 109 Muslim-Americans plotted against targets in the United States. And terrorism by Muslim-Americans killed 50 in the same time period. Contrast that with the deaths from other mass shootings just last year: 136 — more than twice as many as all the deaths from 13 years of Muslim-American terrorism. “– 50 deaths in thirteen years. This is the real number of people died because of Muslim terrorist attacks in the United States. The top five causes of death in the US in 2015, per Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, is #1- heart attack; 614,348 – #2 cancer 591,699 – #3 chronic lower respiratory disease, 147,101 – #4 accidents  136,053, and #5 is stroke, killing 133,103. Per the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the tenth cause of death in the U.S. is Suicide. 42,773 died of suicide in 2014. More people die in this country from depression and mental illness, than war, murder and natural disasters combined. So, the chances that we or our loved ones dying from an Islamic terrorist attack is near zero in the United States. But the rest of the world has a different reality. Thereligionofpeace.org reports that 1274 Islamic attacks in 50 countries, in which 117,74 people were killed and 143,03 injured in 2016. Most of these attacks are in Muslim countries slaughtering other Muslims. Unfortunately, with this trend, we will not remain to be immune from this danger. It’s approaching us if we don’t act now. The good news is that the President Elect Donald Trump understands this danger and hopefully will take measures to protect all citizens. We must also understand that the war on terror cannot and will not be solved by military actions alone. We must demand our elected officials to do the right thing when it comes to our government’s foreign policies. It is not realistic to be at war all the time and expect to continue to live in our own bubble of safety. We must ask them to keeping people and humanity in mind rather than power or politics. We must also take it upon ourselves to do our part in the community. Fear comes from the lack of knowledge and experience. Islamophobia is now a common word on all the news outlets used for political power. Our politicians and media have done a good job of that. We have a choice to rant about our fear or rise above it with these practical steps. If you are a non-Muslim:

1. Research to know your real enemies and why the world has become a dangerous place
2. Fear the fear itself and what it could bring upon yourself if you continue to live with fear
3. Follow your heart with compassion towards Muslim families newly settled in your neighborhood, help them with what they need to expedite their adjustment
4. Talk to your Muslim neighbors, co-workers to understand their values and lifestyle. You will find some differences, but you will find much more similarities than what you think
5. Make sure they understand that you want to know them or help them sincerely. Please remember that most Muslims have come from a war-torn country that has destroyed their ability to trust right away
6. Defend them when you see they are unfairly harassed in any way. They are outnumbered.
7. Report them to authorities if you are suspicious

If you are a Muslim:

1. Come out of your isolated faith based mosques and participate in interfaith and community events
2. Know your non-Muslim neighbors and co-workers to know who they really are and understand their values
3. Change your appearance to look like majority in your community
4. Practice spreading love, kindness, and peace by action. Volunteer and show compassion where you live
5. Stand up against hate and condemn violence when you are among other Muslims
6. Appreciate the country and the people who accepted you in this safe haven
7. Blow the whistle, report to authorities if you are suspicious of any act of violence.

My hope is that we all practice tolerance with each other because the greatness of our nation is in safety and unity not in division and fear.