Team,

When the United States enters conflicts with Muslim-majority countries, it destabilizes nations and infringes upon human rights.

It also riles up Islamophobes and racists at home.

I've seen it on Twitter, where my calls to avoid a war with Iran were met with Islamophobic slurs and tropes in my replies. We've seen it at the U.S.-Canadian border, where dozens of Iranians and Iranian-Americans have been held for questioning for no reason at all.

From 2003 to 2007, we saw alarming rates of death threats, vandalism, and violence against Arab-Americans and others assumed to be of Middle Eastern heritage.

Violent rhetoric turns into violent acts.

Several of this president's hateful policies are rooted in Islamophobia. He's already empowered Islamophobes with the Muslim ban and his decision to accept the lowest amount of refugees in modern history. It will only get worse as he recklessly pushes us closer to an endless, unnecessary war with Iran.

Muslims should not have to keep living in fear of death threats and violent hate crimes simply because of their religion. Even as I make progress as one of the first Muslim Congresswomen, I face constant threats and hateful rhetoric.

The times we're in call for all of us to work harder to stamp out hate. If we stand together and speak truth to power, we can put Islamophobia in the dustbin of history where it belongs.

Always in solidarity,

Ilhan Omar