Muslims continue to face attacks from all directions in todays America. The Council on American-Islamic relations recently released their annual report on Islamophobic attacks, finding a 57 percent increase in attacks on Muslims in 2016 from the prior year. The trend does not appear to be abating in 2017. Just last week, a video of a Muslim woman being harassed in line at a Northern Virginia Trader Joes went viral, showcasing how some now feel comfortable casually harassing Muslims over their faith in the middle of a grocery store. Meanwhile, an Oregon man was just arrested after threatening to kill worshipers at a mosque, and a Muslim family on a beach in Texas was recently subjected to an Islamophobic tirade by a self-proclaimed Trump supporter. To say it is a challenging time for Muslims in America would be an understatement.

Thankfully, there are bright spots for American Muslims in this toxic environment. On May 10, as part of the annual American University School of International Service (SIS) End-of-Year Celebration at the Maggianos Chevy Chase in Washington, DC, Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University (AU), was awarded the 2016-17 SIS Scholar/Teacher of the Year award. As a leading faculty member of SIS, one of the top ten schools of international affairs in the US, Ahmed received this award in recognition of his innovative and important scholarship as well as [his] dedicated, rigorous, and inspiring mentoring of our students and [his] service to our community. Joined by several members of his family, including his wife, Zeenat, his two sons, Babar and Umar, his daughter-in-law Melody, and two of his grandsons, Alexander and Gabriel, along with two key members of his research team, Frankie Martin and myself, for the ceremony, Ahmed received this prestigious award before a full house and a standing ovation of SIS staff and faculty.