Donald J. Trump released his long-awaited medical records (if we can call them that) this week on the 'Dr. Oz Show'. In true showmanship manner, he got precisely what he wanted: intense media hype, suspense, high ratings and most importantly - control of the narrative. While many have criticized Dr. Oz for preemptively stating that he wasn't going to ask the Donald any questions that he didn't want to answer, and subsequently allowed him to share only what he wanted, the real tragedy in all of this actually has nothing to do with Trump's health at all. What most Americans, including some of Trump's ardent supporters, may not realize is that Dr. Oz is Muslim - yes, Muslim. At a time when attacks against Muslims are skyrocketing and there is a direct correlation between this election cycle and such hate crimes, Dr. Oz's inability to question Trump on his Muslim ban and varied vile statements on the subject was nothing short of an epic fail.
The son of Turkish immigrants, Dr. Oz was raised in a Muslim household where his father was more traditional and his mother secular as he once described to Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on PBS. He identifies himself more on the spiritual side of the religion as he explained. The extent or level of Dr. Oz's faith however, is irrelevant. Just as there are folks who never go to church and only find their faith around Christmas time (but still identify as Christian when asked), there are Muslims that are secular, semi-practicing or only celebrate the Eid holidays. Just like any other group, Muslims aren't homogeneous and they are as diverse as humanity itself as I often say. That in and of itself is all the more reason why Dr. Oz, with such a huge national platform and as the son of Muslim immigrants, could and absolutely should have held Trump accountable for his words and ideas because the reality is, they have already had a detrimental effect on Muslims in America.
Adelphi University recently published preliminary results of a study they conducted on the impact of this election's Islamophobia on American Muslims. They included 600 Muslims in the study, nearly half of whom were born in the U.S. - and the results were staggering to say the least. As the Long Island Press highlighted, nearly two-thirds reported experiencing discrimination in the past year, and a shocking 93% said that election-year Islamophobia had "some to extreme negative impact" on their lives and on their families' lives. A few more depressing stats: 62% said they feel the need to prove that they are Americans, 56% said they experienced their loyalty being questioned and 89% said they feel their lives have less value.
As alarming as the Adelphi study is, it sadly isn't an outlier. Earlier this year, Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding published a report highlighting the correlation between a rise in anti-Muslim attacks and the 2016 election cycle. Just between March 2015 and March 2016, they logged 180 acts of anti-Muslim violence which included murders, acts of vandalism, assaults, arsons and more.
In New York City, the supposed bastion of diversity, there's been a frightening rise in attacks against Muslims in just the past few months alone. Two Muslim women were attacked on a Brooklyn sidewalk last week as they pushed their toddlers in strollers. The suspect in custody reportedly punched one of the women in the head and tried to rip her hijab off while screaming, "get the f--k out of America b----s, you don't belong here." The woman accused of this horrendous incident allegedly pushed one of the strollers to the ground as well, and now faces two counts of felony assault as a hate crime and two counts of acting in a manner injurious to a child.
Last weekend, a Scottish Muslim woman standing on Fifth Ave. in the heart of Manhattan had her clothes set on fire in what police are investigating as a hate crime. These outrageous incidents follow on the heels of random deaths of Muslims in the City. The aunt of an NYPD cop was stabbed to death as she walked ahead of her husband down a Queens sidewalk last month. Nazma Khanam, 60 years old, was dressed traditionally when the stabbing took place. Police have said she may have been the victim of a robbery attempt even though the family points to the fact that she was found with all of her possessions and they insist this was nothing short of a hate crime.
In the same borough of Queens, not long before Khanam's death, a prominent Imam in the Bangladeshi community and his assistant were killed as they walked from their mosque in broad daylight. They were shot execution style. While there has been an arrest in this case, police have yet to identify a motive and family members in this tragedy again highlight the fact that nothing was taken from the two men. Needless to say, the community is on edge.
All across the country, there have been random acts of violence taking place against Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim, their places of worship and anything that may symbolize Islam. In Tulsa, OK, a Christian Lebanese American was shot and killed last month by a neighbor who had called him a 'dirty Arab', and previously ran over the victim's mother with his car according to reports (she survived).
Meanwhile in Florida, a 32-year-old man has been arrested and is facing arson and hate crime charges for a fire that severely damaged a mosque (that the Orlando shooter reportedly attended in the past). According to reports, this suspect's Facebook page contained anti-Islamic rhetoric, including things like "All Islam is radical". This arson is just one of many against mosques around the country. CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, just released a report concluding that 2016 is on track to be one of the worst years ever for anti-mosque incidents with a total of 55 cases recorded as of mid-September; last year there were 79.
And these are just the cases that we know of.
As often is the case with crimes committed against a marginalized community that includes immigrants who may have language barriers, may not fully grasp the system or be fearful of retribution, things often go underreported. Ever since Trump touted his Muslim ban, "extreme vetting" process and need to figure out "what the hell is going on," people have been warning of an imminent backlash against the community. Not only is that backlash very real, but as studies show, there is a direct link to the vitriol of the 2016 campaign. For Dr. Oz, as one of the most powerful Muslims in this nation, to give in to the temptation of a ratings boost and allow himself to be used by Trump without holding him accountable is just pitiful and disappointing at best.
Because guess what doc, when people attack Muslims, immigrants, those they view as 'other' and chant things like 'dirty Arabs' and 'get out of the country', they won't be asking if you're traditional, secular or spiritual before doing so.