Farah Pandith On Fighting Extremism And Protecting American Muslims

Let's explore another moment in last Sunday's second presidential debate. It came in a question asked by Missouri resident Gorbah Hamed: "With Islamophobia on the rise, how will help people like me deal with the consequences of being labeled as a threat to the country after the election is over?"

Donald Trump answered first: "Whether we like it or not, and we can be very politically correct, but whether we like it or not there is a problem," Trump said in part. "And we have to be sure that Muslims come in and report when they see something going on."

Hillary Clinton said she, too, wants American Muslims to be part of our eyes and ears: "I've heard how important it is for them to feel that they are wanted and included and part of our country, part of our homeland security, and that's what I want to see."

That's what the candidates are saying. But when Muslims around the world look at this election, what are they seeing?

Farah Pandith, former first-ever special representative to Muslim communities under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a senior fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School, and an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. She tweets @Farah_Pandith.