You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: tell RNC chair Reince Priebus to denounce his party’s Islamophobia.

Islamophobia is hardly new in this country, but it has intensified courtesy of a Republican party whose presidential candidates are unified in their blame and bigotry.

Linda Sarsour, on behalf of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has a petition at Change.org titled "The Republican Party must denounce the dangerous Islamophobia of candidates and officials” that is comprehensive and yet to the point. She writes:

"I am a mother of three, a working woman, and a civil rights activist. I am also a Muslim. Since the November terror attack in Paris, we’ve seen an unprecedented rise in acts of discrimination, intimidation, and violence targeting American Muslims across the country. It makes me worry about my family, and our country. But, instead of calling for all Americans to rally together, a number of Republican presidential candidates and elected officials have been spreading baseless fear of Muslim Americans.”

It doesn’t seem to matter how many studies are done that prove the real threats to American lives are guns and white, Christian-identified men. “Othering” minority religions and ethnicities is too easy for a party heavily invested in stoking fear to win votes. Sarsour makes the parallel between these individuals and ISIS who is attempting to start a religious war by making non-Muslims fear the peaceful Muslims like her living and working in their communities. She asks that you join the more than 30,000 who have already added their names to the CAIR petition to show the GOP and its leading presidential candidate Donald Trump that Americans will not be provoked into giving ISIS what it wants.

"Hate-filled rhetoric and anti-Muslim attacks put American Muslim families like mine in real danger, and play right into Daesh’s (ISIS) plans,” Sarsour writes. "If such Islamophobic hatred and bigotry is not rejected outright by the GOP, it will be a part of the party’s legacy, and a part of our nation’s legacy for generations to come. That isn’t a legacy I want my children -- or anyone’s -- to have to live with.”

Take one minute to sign and share CAIR’s petition and urge the Republican Party to denounce Islamophobia.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN: "The Republican Party must denounce the dangerous Islamophobia of candidates and officials” via Linda Sarsour with The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) at Change.org

Additional Activism/Resources:

SIGN: Tell The News Media: Stop Obsessing Over Donald Trump via Media Matters For America via MoveOn.org

Sources/further reading:

"It’s Not Just Trump – Islamophobia Is Widespread In the GOP Field” — round-up of articles on GOP Islamophobia in Election 2016 via HillaryClinton.com

"Who Will Stop Republican Islamophobia?” via The New Republic

Book: "Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream”

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #982 "Trouble at the old pharm (Health Care)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich