It has been a difficult month for Hindu-Americans.

A Hindu-American grandfather out for a leisurely walk in Alabama was thrown to the ground and paralyzed by a rogue cop. Two Hindu temples near Seattle were vandalized, complete with Nazi graffiti and spray-painted instructions for congregants to "go home." And a state legislator in Idaho walked out of the state House when a Hindu chaplain offered an ecumenical prayer.

Even Hawaii’s tradition of pluralism and spirit of aloha do not seem immune to these strains of Hinduphobia.

Star-Advertiser columnist David Shapiro produced a hit-piece on the only serving Hindu member of the U.S. Congress, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, accusing her of harboring illiberal political views informed by her Hindu faith and a recent visit to India ("Fixation on IS semantics casts doubt on Gabbard," Volcanic Ash, March 8).

Gabbard enjoys unusual credibility in Washington, D.C., on Middle East matters as a policy-driven, articulate legislator who happens to be an Iraqi war veteran. Her insistence that President Barack Obama not shirk from calling out the interpretation of Islam inspiring the Islamic State is not Islamophobia, but rather an intellectually honest assessment based on a basic dictum known to every soldier: "If you don’t know your enemy, you will not be able to defeat him."

Gabbard is clear that Muslims are not the enemy. But there are few that would argue that the Saudi-sponsored Wahabi school of Islam is openly espoused not only by the barbaric gangs controlling vast portions of Syria and Iraq, but by terrorists controlling parts of Libya, Algeria, Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and Nigeria. And Gabbard’s views are not radical —they are echoed in the pages of The Atlantic and The New York Times.

Whether constituents agree or disagree with Gabbard, the argument that her politics are informed by her Hindu religion are outrageous. Has any commentator similarly accused U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono for Buddhist politics, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz acting out his Jewish faith, or U.S. Rep. Mark Takai for politicking while Episcopalian? Why the bilious view of Gabbard and her faith?

Gabbard’s unique political initiatives vis-a-vis India should be seen as groundbreaking accomplishments. Gabbard, with leaders from both sides of the aisle, showed unusual political grit in advocating against a House bill that was widely seen as unfairly targeting India just before its historic national elections. As a result, Gabbard has been able to play a key role in ushering in a new era in U.S.-India relations. After the elections, Gabbard met with the newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi just before President Obama warmly greeted him at the White House last September.

In her maiden trip to India, Gabbard held discussions with Modi and India’s highest ranking ministers, business leaders and women empowerment groups, creating good will just a month before President Obama’s second visit to the country. She also laid the groundwork for a sister-state relationship with the Indian state of Goa. Hawaiians should know that Gabbard’s diplomatic skills have not only solidified an otherwise banal Indo-U.S. relationship to a dynamic friendship with economic, military and humanitarian potential, but have also planted a seed for people-to-people connections between Hawaiians and Goans.

As a constituent, Shapiro is right to engage his congresswoman on the merits of her stand. But what must be condemned is his othering of an Hindu-American.

American political tradition long established that it was anti-Catholic bigotry to accuse President John Kennedy of taking orders from the Vatican, and is anti-Semitism to accuse an American Jewish legislator of taking orders from Israel.

Insinuating dark affiliations to Gabbard for visiting India is similarly Hinduphobic and has no place in civil discourse.

Suhag A. Shukla is executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, a national advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.