All over the United States, American Muslim communities fear backlash after the Dec. 2 shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., and the IS terrorist attack in Paris Nov. 13, reported the Washington Post. Many Muslim organizations and individuals condemned these attacks on social media with hashtags like #NotInMyName, #NotAllMuslims and #NotIslam to show that their communities are horrified by the actions of extremists and the actions of the attackers do not represent all Muslims, reported CNN. However, it appears that condemning these acts is not enough to prevent widespread Islamophobia.

Thursday's New York Post reported the San Bernardino massacre with two different headlines: hard copies of the newspaper had the headline "Murder Mission" and the online issue had the headline "Muslim Killers," reported Mic. Arsalan Ifitkhar, a human rights lawyer, explained to the Washington Post that this headline shows that "when a Muslim American commits a murder, their religion is brought front and center. With anyone else, [it's] a crazy, kooky loner." He continued to express that "Islamophobia is the accepted form of racism in America. Leaders like Donald Trump show us that you can take a potshot at Muslims and get away with it.".

American Muslim parents are scared for the safety of their families. "I think we are all feeling exhausted and very vulnerable. I'm angry at those people who did this attack. And I'm angry at how this is being politicized. Everything boils down to, 'We should fear Muslims. And they shouldn't be here,'" said Rabia Chaudry, a lawyer and national security fellow at the New America Foundation. Chaudry chose to keep her daughter home from school in Maryland yesterday in light of the attacks in California, reported the Washington Post.

The American Civil Liberties Union has urged against blaming the country's Muslim community for Wednesday's carnage."We musn't attribute the actions or characteristics of two individuals to an entire community," said Hector Villagra, the head of the ACLU in California, reported the Inquirer.

However, since the Paris attacks, violence against Muslims has increased sharply, reported the Washington Post. Haneen Jasim, a 22-year-old University of Cincinnati pre-med student who wears the hijab, has experienced this phenomenon firsthand. While walking down the street one evening, a car slowed down and the man inside began insulting her, calling her a terrorist. "He was yelling, 'Paris!' and told me to go back to my country," said Jasim. He then drove toward her, "almost running me over." Three people pulled her to safety, she said. "I've never gotten anything negative about being a Muslim, ever. I always read articles about other people, but I honestly did not think it would happen to me."

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