Hart: Hey, Time, we are a tolerant nation toward Muslims

"Is America Islamophobic?"

The question, sparked by the controversy over the response to the proposed mosque and community center near Ground Zero in New York, screamed at me from the cover of a recent Time magazine nestled amid the comfort and chaos of my kitchen table. The answer, according to the team of authors, is a resounding "yes."

Well, there are times in the Hart household when I'm reminded that, more than anything, I'm playing to an audience of four. Four children. And I admit it. I want my kids to understand — dare I say it? — American exceptionalism. In fact, I've shared with them that there may be no better instance of that today than in our current response to Islam, and Muslims in America.

Consider this headline from the Associated Press, after the murders at Fort Hood allegedly committed by a Muslim man last year: "Another Attack Leaves U.S. Muslims Fearing Backlash."

That was the conclusion jumped to by one of the same news organizations routinely telling us not to jump to any conclusions linking crimes committed by Muslims to Islam. Only, once again the predicted "backlash" didn't materialize.

Well, of course it didn't. That's the America I know, and that's the real story I want my kids to know. That in the wake of the murder of almost 3,000 Americans done in the name of Islam, and subsequent such murders (Fort Hood) and attempted murders (Times Square), America has demonstrated extraordinary restraint and true tolerance toward Muslims.

FBI statistics for 2008, the most recent year for which they are available, show that of the 1,606 reported hate-crime offenses motivated by religious bias that year, 65.7 percent were actually anti-Jewish, 8.4 percent anti-Christian and 7.7 percent anti-Islamic. Any such crime, which includes a wide range of violations, but is often related to property or intimidation, is deplorable. But the comparative scarcity of such crimes against Muslims in America is stunning. Even the Time cover story admitted that "there's no sign that violence against Muslims is on the rise."

No sign? No other nation in the world could claim such tolerance in the wake of what we've experienced. Good grief, even all-tolerant France has banned the burqa.

Efforts by our national leaders to consistently defend Islam as a "religion of peace" and visit mosques (President George W. Bush), celebrate Ramadan (President Barack Obama), refuse to allow any racial profiling even at airports (every homeland security secretary) and more is breathtaking.