Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas and 2016 presidential candidate, pauses while speaking during the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, March 21, 2016. The presidential race will take a detour from domestic sniping today as Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Trump's two Republican opponents converge on Washington to address the key pro-Israel group. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Another week, another Islamophobic assertion from the Republican presidential race. This time it was Ted Cruz, calling for increased security in "Muslim neighborhoods" in the wake of a tragedy in Brussels.

By Muslim neighborhoods, forgive me for thinking he means Dearborn, Mich. (even though, as I've explained before, Muslims only make a portion of the Arab Americans in Dearborn).

So, here's my message to Teddy-boy: The only protection Dearborn needs is protection from politicians like you! Dearborn is a model America should be following, not fearing.



"Dearborn is a model America should be following, not fearing."



Just think, here in Dearborn we have Muslims, Christians and Jewish persons praying together and living in harmony. We have a thriving business sector and several international corporations who have either their headquarters or a major facility here. We also have the best sweets, no matter what Rush Limbaugh says.

If the rest of the world looked like Dearborn, there'd be no terrorism.

Think about it: What is the cause of terrorism?

We saw terrorist groups explode after the civil wars in Iraq and Syria. We've seen the government instability in the Middle East, sometimes caused by our own country's interventions, creating a security and governance vacuum. Radical terrorist groups made up of unemployed youth use religion and racial superiority to justify their horrific actions, not unlike how the Klu Klux Klan used those same techniques to grow after the American civil war.

The truth is that instability and unrest causes terrorism. Stability, harmony and mutual respect creates peace. If the rest of our world behaved and looked like Dearborn, groups like ISIS would be so marginalized that they wouldn't be able to garner support.

However, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and other conservative's recent statements have raised new questions about whether or not they are exacerbating domestic terrorism problems in the United States. Hate crimes (the politically-correct term our media and government use to describe terrorism caused by non-Muslims) have been rising against Muslim, Sikh and Arab Americans as the rhetoric on the right heats up.

Since we know that these hate crimes essentially amount to sectarian terrorism in the United States, we need to start taking a hard look at what kind of responsibility politicians have for the Islamophobic rhetoric they use. If someone gets beaten up or killed today for being Muslim, and the killing was inspired by these kinds of statements, don't you think Ted Cruz bares some of the blame?



"Let's scale the cliff of our indifference and have a real talk about a way to not just 'fight terrorism' but to actually create a more peaceful world."



America needs to rally together and stand against this kind of rhetoric. It's not just unconstitutional: it challenges our most basic spiritual feelings of human togetherness.

We need to build bridges, not walls.

Let's scale the cliff of our indifference and have a real talk about a way to not just "fight terrorism" but to actually create a more peaceful world. Let's talk about how instability and intolerance creates violence, and how we can counter that with tolerance and togetherness.

It's time we stopped talking about "Muslim neighborhoods" and instead started behaving neighborly. It's time that the world, and the United States, started following Dearborn's lead.