(CNN) -- I grew up in an interfaith home where I learned, despite what some on the far right allege today, that Islam and Christianity have much in common. My father was Muslim and born in the 1930s in what was then known as Palestine. My mother is Italian (Sicilian, to be accurate) and proudly Christian. My family was the embodiment of the American Dream: An immigrant father and first generation mother of differing ethnicities and faiths, who did more than just co-exist: They flourished. Our mini "melting pot" succeeded because we focused on the commonalities between Islam and Christianity, the most obvious being that we worship the same God. How could we not? After all, we share almost identical prophets such as Moses, Abraham and Jesus.
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Dean Obeidallah says he grew up an American in Jersey with Muslim dad, Catholic mom
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He says after September 11 he found others now saw him as a suspicious Muslim
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He says hate groups profit from anti-Muslim speech, but they are starting to be marginalized
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Obeidallah: On 9/11 in particular we can't allow others to blind us to our commonality
But I do have a grave concern: I have never witnessed more @placeholder rhetoric espoused by politicians, religious leaders and in media outlets than I do today.