When the news emerged on Thursday about the synagogue attack in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, it was a chilling reminder of a disturbing pattern: yet another Jewish place of worship targeted by violence.

As I followed media coverage, anxiously awaiting updates on casualties, it became evident that the extremist ideologies I encountered during my upbringing in the Middle East have found a foothold in Middle America. Despite the change in location and era, the underlying hate remains unchanged.

Antisemitism is on the rise across the Western world. What was once confined to the fringes of society is now displayed openly. Jewish communities are feeling the brunt of this shift, facing increased security measures at synagogues, encountering harassment on college campuses, and witnessing families hesitating to express their Jewish identity in public spaces.

Though I wished otherwise, I couldn’t shake the suspicion that a fellow Muslim and Arab was responsible for the Michigan attack. Sadly, my fears were confirmed swiftly. The Department of Homeland Security soon identified the suspect as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a Muslim immigrant from Lebanon who had attained U.S. citizenship.

The animosity towards American Jews transcends an assault on a singular religious group; it strikes at the very heart of the freedoms and values that form the foundation of this nation. I speak from personal experience, not as a detached commentator but as someone familiar with this ideology from within.

I am a Muslim American and an Arab American who did not learn about antisemitism from academic texts or political discussions. My understanding came from living amidst it, growing up in environments — first in Iraq and then in Lebanon — where animosity towards Jews was as pervasive as the air we breathed.

It’s a hatred that appears in schoolbooks, political speeches, television programs, and everyday conversations. Over time, this hatred settles in and becomes normalized. This was the case when I was growing up – and it remains the case today.

When news broke Thursday of the synagogue attack in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, the pattern felt grimly familiar: Another Jewish house of worship, another act of violence

Within hours, the Department of Homeland Security identified the Michigan suspect as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a Muslim immigrant from Lebanon

Author Dalia al-Aqidi fled the repression of the Middle East for the openness of America

But this normalization comes with a terrible cost. It poisons societies, turns neighbors into enemies, and lays the foundation for violence.

I witnessed both this hatred and its consequences firsthand in the nations of my youth – and this is why I fled them.

I came to the United States because it promised something different, a country where people could live without fear of expressing their faith and where freedom wasn’t determined by identity. That promise is why I will not remain silent as the same poisonous ideology I learned in my youth takes root here in America.

During my decades as a journalist, I’ve covered wars, terrorism, and the rise of extremism. I have interviewed radicals and studied the narratives that turn anger into violence. One thing I now know for certain: Extremism rarely begins with bombs or trucks; it begins with words.

In the US, such words have resulted in an uneasy partnership between secular ‘revolutionary’ politics – from transgender rights to black liberation – and the religious extremism espoused by pro-Palestinian causes. On the surface, these groups appear to share little in common – how else to explain the ‘queer’ affinity for Gaza, a place where LGBTs are regularly murdered. But these groups have found common allies – and enemies – in their shared hostility toward the West, liberal democratic values, and Israel.

Such alliances have created an environment where ideology becomes exempt from scrutiny. Under the banner of social justice and #intersectionality, Islamists are often portrayed as victims beyond criticism, while accusations of ‘Islamophobia’ are used to intimidate and silence those who warn against terror. 

Or, even worse, Islamophobia allegations fuel the hatred that causes men like Ayman Ghazali to take up arms against sacred houses of worship, like Temple Israel outside Detroit.

The consequences of this dynamic are severe. When legitimate criticism is suppressed, dangerous ideas spread unchecked. Extremist rhetoric becomes normalized, hostility toward Jews is reframed as legitimate political expression, and those who attempt to sound the alarm are pushed outside of public debate.

But the problems do not stop there.

Antisemitic rhetoric is also finding a megaphone along the far right. Media personalities like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens now promote ancient conspiracies about Jewish power and influence. 

When voices from opposite ends of the political spectrum begin repeating the same libels, the danger multiplies – and metastasizes.

On the surface, these groups appear to share little in common – how else to explain the ‘queer’ affinity for Gaza, a place where LGBTs are regularly murdered 

Media personalities like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens now promote ancient conspiracies about Jewish power and influence

Hatred spreads fastest when it is legitimized from every direction.

For that reason, Thursday’s attack on Temple Israel cannot be merely dismissed as an isolated incident. This was not about Israel or the current war in the Middle East. It was about an American community targeted simply for being Jewish. History has repeatedly demonstrated that when hatred toward one group is tolerated, it rarely stops there. Once such prejudices take root, no community remains truly safe.

America now faces a choice.

We can confront this rising antisemitism and radical Islamism with honesty and courage. Or pretend it is someone else’s problem until the next synagogue, school, or neighborhood targeted.

Hatred often begins by isolating one community from the mainstream. It then tests how far such isolation will be tolerated —how much silence, how much indifference, how much fear hate can exploit.

If we allow this radical ideology to further take root, we will lose far more than another school or synagogue. We will lose the very principles that make America a nation worth defending – the principles that caused me to flee my homelands all those decades ago.

Dalia Al-Aqidi is a Republican Congressional candidate in Minnesota, an Advisory Board Member of the Ideological Defense Institute and a Senior fellow at the Center for Security policy.