Excerpt:
The so-called Ground Zero mosque. The Florida pastor intent on torching Qurans. And the Disneyland hostess barred from wearing a hijab.
Kiran Ansari cites those issues and others as proof that "Islamophobia" is on the rise in the United States and underscores the need for Muslim Americans to get involved in the democratic process.
"Those things have a ripple effect on us here in Chicago," said Ansari, 34, who will cast a ballot for the first time when she votes early this month for the Nov. 2 election.