by PAUL FINDLEY
The sustained outcry against the Islamic Community Center two blocks from Ground Zero in New York City is not the first time U.S. Muslims have been on the defensive. During the 1990s, long before 9/11, they were suffering discrimination in the workplace and often the target of physical threat and attack. Places of worship were the target of vandalism and crude graffiti, and sometimes arson.
While lecturing across America during those years, I became convinced that anti-Muslim passions based on false stereotypes are a cancer that threatens the well-being of all Americans, not just followers of Islam. At home, they nurture bigotry and fear. In the Middle East, they are a massive roadblock to balanced, fair U.S. policies.