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Wahiba Abu-Ras, Ph.D., associate professor

With the 2016 presidential election in full swing, concern is growing over the mental health of Muslims in the United States, who have been the targets of bitter rhetoric. Wahiba Abu-Ras, Ph.D., associate professor in the , is studying the issue and finding cause for alarm.

In July, Dr. Abu-Ras, who has extensive experience studying Muslims鈥� mental health, and her collaborators, Zulema Suarez, Ph.D., and Adelphi M.S.W. student Vivian Storm launched a survey to gauge the impact of Islamophobia during the 2016 election campaign. As of mid-August, more than 500 qualified participants had responded to the survey, and their responses were telling.

A significant majority鈥�93 percent鈥攔eported experiencing 鈥渟ome鈥� or 鈥渆xtreme鈥� negative impact from the campaign. Slightly less than half鈥�47 percent鈥攕aid they felt 鈥渟omewhat safe鈥� being Muslim in the United States. The majority鈥�53 percent鈥攔eported feeling 鈥渧ery鈥� or 鈥渆xtremely鈥� unsafe.

An article by Josh Keefe in the Observer, published in early August, reported Dr. Abu-Ras鈥� preliminary findings. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of fear,鈥� Dr. Abu-Ras told the reporter.