Why must a Muslim person’s faith come up the moment that person breaks through the mainstream in any conceivable way - regardless of relevance or context? And why does it invariably end up linking that person through multiple degrees of separation to terrorism?

The fact that even a Miss USA could not be spared this exercise in futility puts away any remaining doubt that there is a segment of America that is suffering from a bizarre and unhealthy obsession with Islam.

This past Labor Day weekend CAIR participated in the 43rd Annual ISNA convention, the largest for Muslims in North America.

Beefed-up airport screens target anyone with a head covering -- cowboy hats, turbans, hijabs and all. A Chicago-bound flight is grounded because six men speaking Arabic concerned a passenger.

Such realities confront more than 400,000 Muslim-Americans in the Chicago region alone who struggle to meld their faith and nationality. They are among more than 6 million and growing Muslims nationwide