In today’s political landscape, every candidate is trying their hardest to appeal to every group of voters that they can. Whether it's young people, people of color, or women, everyone is doing their best job to appeal to the most voters. But there is a group that some politicians nowadays do the opposite to and disassociate themselves with for voter support. Candidates like Donald Trump play on the American citizen’s ever growing fear and ignorance towards Islam and disconnects himself from the Muslim people so the ignorant people will like him more. He is not the only one to do this though: fellow GOP candidates Ted Cruz and Ben Carson also use the American fear of Muslim people to their advantage for their campaign.

Post 9/11 has been a hard time for Muslim people in America. Islamophobia has spread nationwide and doesn’t look as it will stop at any point soon. Most Muslims are subject to many types of ridicule and punishment, just for their religion. Not only that, but they are subject to actual danger, such as that faced by Ahmed Mohamed who was literally arrested at the age of 15 because someone thought a homemade clock that he created was a bomb. There is also the story of Abdisamad Shiekh-Hussein who was sadly killed at the age of 16 in front of his mosque. Life as a Muslim-American is a one of many hardships and pain, while also being one of a lack of voice.

Politicians, more notably on the GOP side, tend to shut the Islamic people out with their “patriotic” anti-Muslim rhetoric. I think everyone knows that the most obvious example is any Donald Trump rally, where he continues the stereotype of Middle-Eastern people being terrorists and dangerous, even suggesting that Muslims carry special IDs so others know who is and isn’t Muslim for other Americans’ safety. He even has gone out to say that America has a "Muslim problem." In addition to that, many Islamic people at his rallies get booed out and assaulted by his supporters. While that may not Donald Trump doing it, he supports anything anti-Muslim judging by his speeches. He also never speaks out against it, and lets it happen to innocent people. Ted Cruz does not stray away from hating Muslims as well -- he openly supports carpet bombing (which would kill many innocent Muslim people) and has specifically said, “to carpet-bomb ISIS into oblivion, testing if sand can glow in the dark.” A third example is Dr. Ben Carson, who tends to say many things without thinking of the outcome or the intent. Carson has said numerous Islamophobic things, but most notably he has said that the President of the United States should not be a Muslim. He shuts out an entire group of people and an ignorant group of people in America blindly follow it. It doesn’t even stop at candidates. There was an outrage when Obama had started his presidency, many proclaimed and argued that Barack Obama was a Muslim. People were outraged at Obama possibly being a Muslim. Now while this was just a rumor and Obama is not actually a Muslim, what if he was? What is the issue with that? Why is the idea of a Muslim president something that angers Americans? This pushed the mindset that Muslim is something that equates to bad, and dangerous.

These mindsets and opinions are in a way destroying America and ruining the sanctity of the “melting pot” that America once was, because it completely shuts out a group of people. These politicians are talking with their “patriot” archetype but in reality they are the opposite of what America stands for. America is a country meant for many people of many races, ethnicities, and religions to come together and live in this “land of the free.” But nowadays it is only the land of the free if you are what society, and politicians want you be. This is obviously something that needs to change. America’s roots lie in unity, yet politics continues to separate us. Islamophobia is hurting out government and the institutionalized prejudice is something that needs to be addressed and changed.