The year in Islamophobia

There are always lots of end-of-year retrospectives, but here's a particularly important and interesting retrospective at TPM called, "This Year in Islamophobia."

It starts like this:

Nine years after Sept. 11, 2001, America saw perhaps its worst outbreak of Islamophobia since the attacks. Experts wagered it came from the aimless fear and the anger people feel in times of economic crisis, exploited by certain politicians looking to give their party an advantage in the midterms and turned toward American Muslims.

Such an outbreak was possible in the days and months after Sept. 11's attacks. It never really materialized, experts say, in part because President George W. Bush stood up and told the nervous country that Islam is a religion of peace, and that American was not at war with Muslims.

He made no such appeal this year, and President Obama's pleas fell on deaf ears or, more accurately, ears that believe Obama himself is secretly, and sinisterly, Muslim.

Embarrassing, isn't it? At least, if you're an American. I'm sure our enemies are overjoyed to see lunacy like this.