#_muslims

Muslim Americans took to Twitter in droves Sunday night and into Monday morning to mock Donald Trump’s suggestion that Muslims are to blame for Islamophobia in the United States.

Despite acknowledging the existence of Islamophobia, which he called “a shame,” the Republican presidential nominee argued that it’s up to Muslims to combat it.

“Whether we like it or not, there is a problem,” said Trump, whose anti-Muslim campaign rhetoric, including a proposed ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S., has been accused of fueling a nationwide rise in Islamophobia. “We have to be sure that Muslims come in and report when they see something going on. When they see hatred going on, they have to report it.”

Within minutes, Trump had gotten what he asked for.

“I’m a Muslim, and I would like to report a crazy man threatening a woman on a stage in Missouri,” tweeted author and Brooklyn College professor Moustafa Bayoumi, referring to Trump’s noticeable hovering behind Democratic rival Hillary Clinton throughout much of the debate.

By Monday morning, Bayoumi’s quip had been retweeted more than 70,000 times and had spawned #MuslimsReportStuff, one of the top trending hashtags on Twitter.

Many of the tweets mocked Trump directly.

"Hi, I'd like to report that I know many African Americans & Latinos who don't actually live in inner cities." #MuslimsReportStuff #debate

— Hind Makki (@HindMakki) October 10, 2016

Hi, I'm Muslim & want 2 report a man in St. Louis butchering English by stringing adjectives & passing them as sentences #MuslimsReportStuff

— Muna Ali (@munamali) October 10, 2016

I'd like to report that @realDonaldTrump threw @mike_pence under the bus today #muslimsreportstuff #debate

— Arooj Rana (@aroojsrana) October 10, 2016

A man is running for President and engaging in a lot of taqiyya. #MuslimsReportStuff

— Salaam Bhatti (@salawm) October 10, 2016

Others were more absurd. 

I did laundry this morning but still haven't put it away #MuslimsReportStuff

— Sana M (@sanamasuds) October 10, 2016

You don't want to know what we actually put in hummus. #MuslimsReportStuff

— Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) October 10, 2016

One time I accidentally ate pancetta bc I didn't know it was bacon. It was delicious ???? #MuslimsReportStuff

— Nuha Krad (@kradiologist) October 10, 2016

It was hardly the first time Trump has accused Muslim Americans of failing to thwart potential terrorist attacks by reporting suspicious activity, despite evidence from the FBI and other law enforcement officials to the contrary.

In the wake of the deadly mass shooting at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub by an American Muslim this past June, FBI Director James Comey publicly refuted a statement made by Trump that “For some reason, the Muslim community does not report people like this.”

“They do not want people committing violence, either in their community or in the name of their faith, and so some of our most productive relationships are with people who see things and tell us things who happen to be Muslim,” Comey countered. “It’s at the heart of the FBI’s effectiveness to have good relationships with these folks.”

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Still, Trump elaborated on his response Sunday night by repeating the unsubstantiated claim that “many people saw” bombs all over the home of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters.

After the debate, Gorbah Hamed, the American-born Muslim woman who asked the Islamophobia question, told the Huffington Post that Trump’s response “wasn’t an answer, actually, it was kind of like an accusation.”

“I’m trying to be hopeful,” Hamed said. “I just hope that Muslims like me are represented well and not made out to be the bad guy.”