Islamophobia?

In an MSN article, a man by the name of Sufu Hashim was quoted as saying of bin Laden's death "Maybe the Islamophobia can stop now". This "phobia" banter has got to end. "Phobia" is a word used to indicate an IRRATIONAL fear. Unfortunately, when a vast majority of individuals committing acts of terrorism are of a particular faith, who look the same, and make the same religious claims of their acts, it's impossible NOT to come to certain conclusions. What's worse, it's not even true that Muslims have been treated unfairly. We've all heard the reports and seen the videos of the white grandmothers and little children being frisked at airport checkpoints, while Muslims have largely escaped any sort of scrutiny.

To Mr. Hashim and other sensitive Muslims, I would suggest that, instead of indignant claims of "Islamophobia", that the following be your talking point: "We are glad that bin Laden is dead, and we are sorry to have seen the disrepute that his reign of terror has brought upon Islam. Please don't judge us by this criminal or his insane followers, please give us the opportunity to prove to you that Islam today truly is a religion of peace, starting with the proclamation that ANY act of terror in the name of Islam will be condemned in the harshest terms." And then DO it. SPEAK OUT against terror, at every opportunity. That, my Muslim friends, will go a long way towards endearing you to the people who have actively been targeted by the fringe within your religion.