Time to hang your heads in shame. The New York Times is reporting an uptick in hate crimes against American Muslims, the “Most Since Post 9/11 Era.”

A report from researchers at California State University, San Bernardino, claims an estimated 260 anti-Muslim hate crimes occurred in 2015. And while the researchers acknowledge a string of terror attacks in Europe and the US as part of the cause, they lay the bulk of the blame at the feet of — you guessed it — Donald Trump. “We’re seeing these stereotypes and derogative statements become part of the political discourse. The bottom line is we’re talking about a significant increase in these types of hate crimes,” said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at the San Bernardino campus.

I am no apologist for Donald Trump. I may not even vote for him. But Trump has tapped into understandable fears that have been simmering in American consciousness since 9/11. And while Hillary Clinton wants to welcome Muslim refugees from Syria, Americans are pushing back.

Hate crimes? Here are some real “hate crimes,” where innocent Americans actually died:

• The 2009 terror attack at Ft. Hood, TX, where Army Maj. Nidal Hasan shot and killed 13 people and wounded over 30 more. His motive? He was a self-proclaimed “Soldier of Allah.”
• The 2015 terror attack in San Bernardino, CA, at a Christmas party where 14 people were killed. The husband-wife perpetrators had pledged themselves to ISIS.
• The June, 2016, terror attack in Orlando, FL, by a gunman who opened fire on revelers in a nightclub. His motive? Oh, yes, he had pledged himself to ISIS, too.
• And how can anyone forget this scene at the Boston Marathon in 2013, where two brothers placed bombs in pressure cookers? The carnage included three dead, including an 8-year-old boy. Motive once again? Islamic terrorism.

And just yesterday, a pipe bomb exploded in New Jersey at a charity race to benefit military veterans. The device had been placed in a trash can. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it is being investigated as possible terrorism.