Growing up in Hamtramck, Michigan, I’ve been surrounded by the majority of people who share a similar background as me: Bengali Muslims. Islam was a commonality; the hijab typical. I faced very little outright discrimination; there was no place for it because the community was largely identical.

I’ve never questioned my origin nor seen my people, or Islam, as something that was feared or disdained by others. Sure, I’ve read the posts on social media. Sure, I’ve seen the hateful videos. But that was all distant, a far-off concept in an alternate existence.

So, when a poster reading “Get the Muslims out of Hamtramck” circulated around my city, the date of the local election posted along with the members running for city council ...

So, when a 5-year-old little boy singing a nasheed (Islamic song) is scared about it being recorded; “What if people see I’m Muslim and I go to jail?” he asked ...

So, when I ask a woman to repeat herself after a misunderstanding, and her response is, “Maybe if you didn’t have that thing around your head you could hear better”...

... suddenly the two worlds collided.

The 2016 election has resulted in a unique spewing of hate, the Trump rhetoric making it increasingly difficult for Muslims to peacefully exist in America. “Make America Great Again” slogans run side by side with hateful speech declaring Muslims as dangerous and in need of surveillance. Claims that "Islam hates us" spew with ideas that Muslims are in an ongoing war with the West, a problem in need of rectifying.

Well, yes, Muslims must be strictly un-American. Of course, their doctrines are innately unpatriotic. Nowhere in history have they influenced any major American policy, movement or stance. But wait, they have.

Before bundling Muslims into one explosive little package, it’s important to take several steps back and realize that there are in fact many defining matters in the very formation of the America we love today that could not be possible if not for the influence of, you guessed it, Muslims.

Let's take it way back, to the very founding of our nation, the first of our fathers Mr. George Washington. One of Washington's first tasks while in office was to ensure a strong relationship between Morocco and the United States, as Morocco, a majority Muslim nation, was the first ever to pursue diplomatic relations with America in the year 1777. Thus, when America was a newly formed nation with few allies and many obstacles, solace and friendship was found in the hands of Muslims. Washington even wrote to the ruler of Morocco in a personal letter “[W]hile I remain head of this nation I shall not cease to promote every measure that may contribute to the friendship and harmony which so happily subsist between your Empire and this Republic.”

And the relationship with Muslims in American history extends even further, at the Battle of Derna in 1805 -- America's first battle on foreign soil. The battle was a result of the United States refusing to pay Barbary Coast pirates who were raiding American ships. Treaty negotiations failed, and thus the Marines were called to action across the Libyan dessert to rescue the kidnapped American crew of the USS Philadelphia. Of the Marines involved were Lt. Presley O'Bannon and less than a dozen other men. Their cause would be close to impossible if not for the help of hundreds of Muslims under the lead of Ahmad Qaramanli, who founded the Qaramanli dynasty of Tripoli in modern day Libya. The cause was one of victory thanks to the aid given to the Marines by Muslims. In fact a sword known as the Mameluke Sword given to O'Bannon by a Muslim chieftain during the course of the Battle of Derna is still used by United States forces today, the oldest ceremonial weapon. A weapon linked to American history, and of Muslim origin.

There was also a Muslim influence involved in ridding America of slavery, arguably the most disgusting stain in our history. When Ahmed Bey, the sovereign prince of Tunis eradicated slavery in his country in 1846, it sent a wave of disappointment among the highest in America's ranks, that "Christian, democratic, republican America is doing nothing at all" (in the words of William Wells Brown). Secretary of State William H. Seward, who himself proclaimed the Thirteenth Amendment that outlawed slavery to the nation, was in fact forwarded a letter by the Gen. Hussein of Tunis pleading for the United States to end slavery. The letter was in response to an inquiry from America on the effects of abolishing slavery on the Tunisian government, containing sentiments revealing that no man has the right to enslave another, slavery inherently cruel, and their decision being driven strongly by the sentiments of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who said "that the worst of men is the seller of men."

The examples are ample and endless.

Beyond how Muslims aided America, religious acceptance and freedom is at the core of our nation's foundation, the most prominent of American figures strong believers in this concept. The likes of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and more were all advocates of this cause. Take George Washington's letter to the Jews of the Hebrew Congregation at Newport, or Thomas Jefferson's to the Danbury Baptists. It feels almost ridiculous to have to reiterate. It is absolutely absurd that these reminders have to be given to someone very likely to become the next president of the United States of America. Donald Trump, a man who in nature contradicts American values, American history, American role models. When Trump claims he wants to “Make America Great Again," it begs the question, who’s example is he following? Which “Great America” does he reference? Definitely not the same one of our founding fathers, definitely not the same one as me.