Dear Donald, #WeAreAllMuslims By Allison Pinski

There has been a lot of discussion surrounding Muslims after recent bombings in Paris at the hands of ISIS and comments made against the religion by Presidential candidate Donald Trump. It is frivolous to argue that Islamophobia isn’t spreading in the United States, as well as other countries in Europe. Fear of Muslims, or more specifically Islamic extremists (individuals belonging to groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda), has caused some U.S. states to close their doors to refugees from Syria*.

*(more than 9 million Syrians were displaced in the last few years and many are traveling to Europe and the U.S. to escape the violence perpetrated by groups and individuals like ISIS).

The U.S. media and political figures consistently misuse Islamic concepts like Sharia law and jihad, resulting in more public fear and confusion. The Council on American-Islamic Relations established an Islamophobia monitor to collect and display the sources of Islamophobia.

Some politicians and large corporations are using Muslims as scapegoats for foreign and domestic security concerns. Donald Trump is one of the most notorious of these figures, leading a strong movement against the Muslim “problem.” In addition to the various statements Trump has released, like these from NBC News, The Telegraph, and The Washingston Post, he also discusses his ideas with Jimmy Kimmel in the video below (entitled “Donald Trump Says Muslims Support His Plan” from the Jimmy Kimmel Live Youtube channel).

Filmmaker Michael Moore was one of the responders to Trump’s incessant Islam bashing, helping fuel #WeAreAllMuslim with his petition and letter to Donald Trump that you can sign.

Today I went & stood in front of Trump Tower & held a sign until the police came. Then I went home & wrote Donald a...

Posted by Michael Moore on Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Others are standing up against Islamophobia and working to address America’s fear of the religion. Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York (HONY) posted the below statement on his Facebook page regarding comments made on some of his posts profiling a female refugee from Iraq named Aya (you can read more about her here). HONY has dedicated many of its recent posts to Aya’s journey from Iraq and her application to come to the U.S. as a refugee.

Yesterday was a “rest day” for me. It’s been an emotional week. Telling Aya’s story was tough enough. But the hardest...

Posted by Humans of New York on Thursday, December 17, 2015

Another avid opposer to Trump’s anti-Muslim campaign is presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, an Independent Senator from Vermont.

Posted by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Wednesday, December 30, 2015

#WeAreAllMuslim has made a significant impact on the general Muslim and non-Muslim populations in the U.S. Mariya Tayyab, a student at the University of Virginia and writer at the Huffington Post, wrote the following article, “We Are All Muslims Indeed, Michael Moore” in response to his post.

“Messages like Michael Moore's were what reminded me that not everyone is okay with stereotyping, not everyone is okay with putting the blame of a few extremists on an entire group. So I want to thank him, thank you for reminding all of us that we are all Muslim. That we are all Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and atheists. That we are all black and white.
That we are all immigrants. That we are all gay. That we are all different. But that we are all American. Is that not why we live in the United States - not because we are different, but because we all love our country and that is why we are here. Some of us were born here, some of us were not, yet we all chose to live here. I think that says a lot, and I wanted to thank Michael Moore because I remembered that it is not about just defending ourselves when someone blames us for a wrong.

Rather, it is up to all of us to defend any type of injustice against any person. I think some of us forget that, we forget that in the end, we are all Americans, and that means we should stand up for each other in times of trouble. If we cannot do that now, when will we be able to do that - when people like Donald Trump have gone through discriminating against every group possible? There will come a point when there is no one left to defend you because everyone else has already been blamed for something else.

So thank you Michael Moore for reminding me that as an American, it is my duty to defend anyone as long as they live in this country -- because they are American just like me. But most of all, thank you for defending another group of people that you may have no relation to other than the fact that both of you are American.” (You can read the rest of the article here).

If you’re interested in joining the movement, you can look at and sign Moore’s petition/letter to Trump here. It is very important to stand against xenophobes and Islamophobes, especially with recent attacks committed by a very small percentage of the religion’s population. Show Trump and all the others lashing out at Islam that you do not stereotype or condemn Muslims for their religion and the acts of others.

waw i salut you girls are amazing 10 Muslim women that ruled 2015 https://t.co/KhCdW44Byp via @Mvsliminspires #WEAREALLMUSLIMS

— Lily (@aiden_lily) December 31, 2015

Islamophobia in American Society https://t.co/ZVxlkuPEJV #Islamophobia #muslims #weareallmuslims #muslimlivesmatter #notinthenameofmuslims

— Linda Sarhan (@Writing_Monkey) December 25, 2015

Dear @realDonaldTrump ,we,the good law abiding Muslims of the USA,demand an apology for your bigotry & antisemitism.Thanks #WeAreAllMuslims

— Sara(h)? (@elprincipessa) December 21, 2015

"Kill us all or leave them alone" - Muslims shield Christians in Kenya bus attack https://t.co/DSqa26Wsy0 #Mandera pic.twitter.com/7uwBLLDml6

— BBC Africa (@BBCAfrica) December 21, 2015

Pastor Martin Niemöller re the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis' rise to power #weareallmuslims pic.twitter.com/GosVlmewQc

— Michael Barnathan (@MBarnathan) December 9, 2015

#WeAreAllMuslims