Hate crimes are their own class of crime for a very good reason: The enhanced classification and punishment deters people from criminally acting out on their bigotry. It is the government’s obligation to its citizens to take a no-tolerance position on such crimes.

I think I speak for a good chunk of Chicagoland’s large Muslim community when I applaud Rahm Emanuel for doing the right thing by apologizing for his father’s disparaging comments about Arabs.

Ahmed Rehab responds to the Don Imus flap in which he made crude racial remarks about African-American women.

Firstly, I write to protest the vilification of an entire people or religion based on what their worse stereotypes have to offer; I ought to remind Higgins that, for many people, this is precisely what defines racism. Secondly, I vow to redouble my own commitment to dialogue and education, these – and not anger - are the most effective weapons against ignorance.

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) believes peace activists from Egypt should be greeted at O’Hare Airport with a hefty dose of institutionalized discrimination. Their offense? Being of the same age group and national origin as Mohamed Atta. “I’m OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states,” says Kirk.

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) believes peace activists from Egypt should be greeted at O’Hare Airport with a hefty dose of institutionalized discrimination. Their offense? Being of the same age group and national origin as Mohamed Atta. “I’m OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states,” says Kirk.

The true Muslim spirit is not to destroy, but to build. We have an obligation to live this message to our compatriots in the West, and to challenge those fringe Muslims who desecrate it with their deplorable blind anger. In such trying times, as we American Muslims struggle to deal with the dual challenges of post-9/11 life, we are mobilizing with optimism to become more American and more Muslim.