Congresswoman Ilhan Omar tweeted recently that "Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are two sides of the same bigoted coin." Her comments came in response to media reports that the suspect behind the shooting at a San Diego synagogue was also under investigation for burning a mosque.
Hate crimes associated with both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism have shown an increase in recent years. But is there an association between the two?
As author of "American Heretics," I have found that American antagonism toward Islamic and Jewish traditions goes back nearly 500 years, and shares some unfortunate connections. From time to time, Muslims and Jews have both been viewed as being antithetical to certain ideas of Americanness.
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