Muslims in public office are not a threat to America. The attacks on them are.

A dangerous line is increasingly being crossed in American politics. A litmus test is taking hold that labels the faith of 2 billion people as grounds for suspicion, treats Muslim public service as a threat, and paints Muslim participation in our democracy as something to fear.

This test deserves to be unequivocally rejected by everyone who believes religion should never be a deciding factor in who gets to serve in society. 

Recently, powerful elected officials have escalated troubling rhetoric that portrays Muslim Americans as inherently disloyal or un-patriotic. This isn’t because of anything they’ve done, but because of their names, their ethnicity and how they worship.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) recently called Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim American who received his medical degree from Columbia University and is former public health official, a “terrorist.”

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) took it even further, describing “every single Muslim holding public office in America” as a threat to national security.

President Donald Trump declared that “jihadists” are “being elected all over the place.”

This requires a swift and strong response regardless of which candidate or party one supports, because demonizing Americans based on faith is a fundamental civil-rights issue regardless of which political party engages in it or which candidate is targeted by it.

Rather than focusing on political stances or policy agendas, these officials resorted to character assassinations of individuals they deemed........

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