John, did you see this?

Yesterday on the House floor, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) went on an Islamophobic tirade, attacking Rep. Ilhan Omar and calling her a member of the “Jihad squad”.

This came as she defended one of her GOP colleagues, who posted content online depicting the murder of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Islamophobic, xenophobic, and sexist rants like this only have one aim — to incite real-world violence. And time and time again, Muslim Americans — especially Muslim women — are the targets.

Year after year, we hear stories of women having their hijab torn from their heads. One of my friends had the exact thing happen to her just a few miles from where my family lives.

It’s terrifying. My wife and two of my daughters wear hijab. I often worry that someone with hate in their heart might target them with the same bigotry as Boebert, calling them xenophobic names or even worse, attacking them physically.

And now that I’m running for public office, people are already sending disgusting messages my way. Just recently, I received this message in response to an email we sent:

But we won’t let hate win. We must draw a very clear line — bigotry will not be tolerated anywhere. Every human deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

Our families deserve a world free from fear and violence. We deserve to live as who we are — no matter how we worship, what we wear, or who we love.

When I’m in Congress, you won’t see me fade into the background. I will call out all forms of bigotry, hate, and discrimination and fight for an America that lives up to its promise of freedom and justice for everyone.

Thank you,

Junaid Ahmed