Calling Obama "Muslim" Isn't Accurate, But It's Not An Insult Either |
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 by Ali Eteraz, March 3, 2008 |
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During the course of the presidential campaign, many of the candidates – and their staffers – on both sides of the political aisle have behaved in a way that has left Muslim citizens of this country feeling like a fifth column; as if Muslims do not belong here unless we cower and feel ashamed about our faith.
It started with Tom Tancredo of Colorado suggesting that he would be willing to bomb Mecca and Medina, sites considered holy by each and every American-Muslim. Then Mitt Romney stated that he couldn’t conceive of a reason why a Muslim might ascend to a cabinet position. Then Mike Huckabee implicitly compared Muslims to dogs. Then John McCain essentially said that Muslims were not qualified to run for President. Then one of Rudy Giuliani’s people said that Muslims – “all Muslims” – should be chased “back to their caves.” Then, early on, early Clinton’s staffers were fired for forwarding disinformation against Senator Obama. All of this occurred with terms like “Islamofascism” and “Islamic terrorists” flying about without nary a concern for accuracy or consequence.
Will Obama say "'Muslim' is no insult"?
Every time someone says Obama is a Muslim, he and his people label it
a smear. Before a Jewish group in Cleveland, he analogized it to getting
swift-boated. He has gone to great lengths to minimize the religiosity
of the Muslims he has encountered in his life, as if the fact that his
father was agnostic will somehow dull the underlying prejudice that
Americans have against Muslims. I have a message for him.
Dear Senator Obama: there is nothing wrong with being a Muslim. It is not a smear. It is not akin to swift-boating. There is nothing nefarious about it. There are millions of Muslims in America, contributing to its welfare just as you and the other presidential candidates aspire to do.
When people say that you are a Muslim, I don’t want to hear you or your people say that you are being smeared. It is, I repeat, not a smear to be a Muslim. Instead, I want you to say that your opponents are lying, since, after all, you are a Christian. In fact, your response should be: “I am not a Muslim, nor would it matter if I were.” The second half of that statement is crucial.
My ideas are not anything new. In fact, Martin Peretz, editor of The New Republic, and a prominent Jewish intellectual, advised you to do the same in an article where he touted you as a good candidate for American-Jews. You have gone to great lengths to defend your association with Jewish-Americans -- why can you not do the same for American-Muslims?
Unless you yourself come out and say both parts of the aforementioned sentence, the suspicious emails that follow you around, the rumors that suddenly besiege you in a primary state, the whispers that surround you right before a debate, will continue. You will continue to give fuel to the right-wing whisper campaigns. The reason that rumors can continue about you is because you do not crush them and, just as importantly, do not challenge the prejudice that undergirds them.
Not only that, but you fail as a leader when you fail to take on the Americans who do find the very idea of a Muslim human being repugnant. Right now it seems that you are counting on the self-hate and political timidity among American Muslims – who have kept their heads down since 9/11 – to simply avoid taking you to task.
How long will your evasiveness continue? This is not good leadership. This is not the politics of hope. You are essentially saying: no, you won’t.
No, you won’t remind the American public that being the President has nothing to do with religion.
No, you won’t remind the American public that there is nothing intrinsically malicious or frightening or nefarious about Muslims.
No, you won’t remind the American public that you are not Muslim, nor would it matter if you were.
So far, all you've done is looked out for your interest. I am glad, because I do want you to win. However, there is more to leadership than self-interest; I learned that from you.
I understand that you are in a tough position. Unlike John F. Kennedy, who was looked upon suspiciously for being a Catholic, you are not being demonized for your own religion, but the religion people say that you are secretly. However, that’s exactly what makes this matter so much more pernicious. That same JFK – to whom you take great pleasure in being compared – said that the politics of suspicion needed to be opposed no matter what religion they were directed against. He said:
For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew–or a Quaker–or a Unitarian–or a Baptist. It was Virginia’s harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson’s statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim — but tomorrow it may be you — until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril.
Senator Obama, this year the finger of suspicion is directed at Muslims. I, an American-Muslim, intend to cast my vote for you as President of the United States. Will you, as my candidate of choice, remind the world that in America, we are all identified, recognized and respected on the basis of our shared status as Americans -- and not on the basis of our religion?
UPDATE: Over the weekend, speaking to 60 minutes, Senator Obama said that the smear emails were offensive to Muslims as well.
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juliafaye
This is an excellent
This is an excellent article.
The thing is, when the Clinton campaign "accuses" Obama of being a Muslim, they do intend it as a smear. It would be great if Obama could say something like, "I'm not a Muslim, but it wouldn't matter if I were, and those who call me a Muslim as if it's a bad thing are wrong." I guess that's obvious to those of us who are paying attention, anyway.
Anonymous
Excellent Point!
Mr. Obama should make it abundantly clear that being called a Muslim is not a smear. He should also let people know that he respects the tradtional values of Islam.
Regards.
Devi Balchand,
former Christian, now Hindu
Phantom
Traditional Values of Islam?
You're assuming Barack knows what the traditional values of Islam are. If he does know them and agrees with them, then sure why not say so. Otherwise, that's going too far.
Somebody should do some research and write an objectively Jewcy article on what the "traditional values of Islam" are. I would love to know myself what they are, and if they're so great, why does it appear to Americans that they are aweful whatever they may be. I came from a supposedly moderate Muslim country (99.9% muslim in fact), and I can assure you that I will take life in America with whatever its values are, over life in that country with whatever its values are.
Saladin
Islamic morals
Phantom,
Islamic morals have been tried, tested, and appreciated throughout history. Yes, some laws do contradict with today's man-made laws, but it would be nice if you could outline some of those that you have found far from civilized.
Also, Muslims today are the worst representatives of the Islamic Faith.
Kamila
I agree
I whole heartedly agree with Saladin...
as a muslim, myself, I have seen what muslims are becoming and most of them, whether extremist or not, aren't a proper representation of Islam. Like any other followers of any other religion, most Muslims these days pick and choose what they want to follow in Islam, even if that means focusing the "72 virgins if one dies a 'martyr'" while completely overlooking the fact that killing (unless in self defense) is prohibited. The way the media plays it out it also seems that extremists are the majority of Islam. this is not the truth. We would like to live in peace and harmony just as the next guy would. There are so many good people in this world, I just don't understand why we let ignorant people run it!
But the ignorant truly are taking control of this world...every aspect of it. I think we, as the intellectual minors, should try and research what the real issues are and what their historical basis are, and spread the truth of the matter, however meticulous a task it would be. Especially since history is always written by the winners/dominant forces.
Phantom
Saladin, I'm not a
Saladin,
I'm not a scholar of Islamic law. I don't know if there are any Islamic laws I would object to. I just know that where I was born and still have family, honor killings are still widespread, women are still subordinate to men, and Christians and Jews are all but history even though they made up a large part of the population less than a century ago. I don't know why these things are the way they are, but my suspicion is that Islamic law somehow condones or excuses dhimmitude and violence under certain circumstances.
zbird
the quote from Kennedy makes me sad...
...to think how pathetic are current politicians are in comparison to Kennedy and other great leaders of the past. As you note at the end of your piece, Obama came through in the end with the right position. Still, I wish we could today hear speeches that match Kennedy's call to Americans' higher selves. In today's poll-driven, focus group-tested political culture, I find it hard to imagine.
--Z
Anonymous
Hmmmm...
Ok, so -- would it be a smear to call someone running for President in the Arab world a Christian? Do you think a Christian candidate would become President in the Arab world? Or, should we simply tell all of those Muslims that it's OK to be Christian? Would they vote for a Christian as President?
Ok, considering that Muslims account for 1% of the U.S. population -- and Christians account for 2% - 5%+ of the Arab world (much higher in some countries).....which minority is being underserved? Christians in the Arab world or Muslims in the U.S.?
The fact is that if Obama was Muslim, there is no way he would become President in this country just as it's equally impossible that a Christian would become the President of a predominently Muslim country. Why the double standard here in the U.S.? I have many Muslim friends, but I also acknowledge that every country has a cultural identity. In the Arab world, being Muslim is part of that identity. In the U.S., it's Christianity. I would not expect a Saudi or Syrian Presidential candidate (if such a thing existed) to think that being called a Christian is a positive thing for his campaign? Why should an American candidate be any different? Obama wants to win -- catering to 1% of the population is not worth losing this election over.....
Anonymous
Phantom, honor killings are
Phantom, honor killings are NOT part of Islam. Women are also not subordinate to men. I don't know where you've lived, but it's possible that it was a patriarchial society, where the CULTURE of said place follows this practice. But Islam doesn't. Islamic law does not protect violators or those who do wrong, unless our religion is blasphemed.
http://www.irfi.org/articles/women_in_islam/honor_killings_in_the_name_of_re.htm
I hope that helps. :)
Shoaib
Case in point, Senegal
To Anonymous 1 ...
If you look at Senegal, a catholic led the predominantly muslim country for a long time.
Anonymous
Shoaib.....
Senegal is different than most other Muslim countries. First, they are (or at least were when the person you are speaking about was President) Sufi Muslims who have never had a major role in the national Secular govt structure. Muslim marabouts rule regional areas where the gov devolves power. Also, Léopold Sédar Senghor was the first President after independence -- a period where Federalism was being developed after peaceful independance from France. He was a dignified figure who was more qualified for the job than anyone else during the birth of the State of Senegal.
In the present day, it would be impossible that a Christian would be elected in Senegal; it happened then only due to a unique situation of Independence from France paired with regionally controlled pockets of Sufism. Plus, you can always find an exception to the rule although I don't see Senegal as an exception. The vast majority of Muslim countries (including Senegal) would not elect a Christian president in the present day. Can you honestly say that on the Arab street as a whole it would be a positive thing for a potential president of a predominantly Muslim country to run on a Christian ticket?
Anonymous
And please...
Senegal could never be called a "case in point." What point? It is unlike any other Muslim country, certainly not representative of the Arab street (although it is now becoming more so).
My "cases in point" --- every other Muslim country in the world including present day Senegal now that Sunni branches have gained a bigger foothold.
Hector
eh
dude,I didn't have enough time to read your article completely,I will
do so ASAP.But here are some points that I wished to express:
I'm considered to be a Muslim, It's written in my national document that I am one.But I am not a practitioner,atleast not yet.
I must say something,you said Goethe was a Muslim!do you have proof
on it?I don't think so,just because he was a fan of Hafiz,The great
Persian Poet(attention, Persian not Arab nor Muslim) doesn't mean that
he was Muslim!I am a Metallica fan,does it mean that I am catholic?
Your mistake is that you've considered Sufism and Islam as a one
thing which is not true.It's like philosophy and religion in western
world....are they one? A philosopher may talk about religion and the
concept of "God" but does it mean that he is a "believer"?
If by this article you wished to express that all Muslims are
terrorists...I must ask you,Western civilization had dark ages,you had
Inquisition all over Europe,your greatest universities were built to
identify and eliminate thinkers and intellectuals(I'm not saying that
this case didn't happen in Muslim world).But it's difficult to hear
someone lecture on human rights and defend a civilization that was
built on slavery and iron fist system of governing(for more info read
about Athens,the cradle of democracy where only men above a certain age
had the right to vote,Women,children and slave were considered
animals,not humans)! So, back to the point,no not all Muslims are
terrorists, My family for example,don't wish that non-believers were
blown away by bombs,and me,I like having an argument who disagrees with
me...cause if I'm wrong I'll learn the truth and If I'm right,I may
have just taught someone something,which ny the way,has a good
feeling!And there are millions like me and my family,not everyone
wishes to participate in jihad(which I think is a very idiotic
concept!no one has the right of killing a person simply because he/she
disagrees with him/her.).
Under one of you images you've written that Nietzsche was a Muslim
atheist...I ask you is there something like an atheist jewish?or an
atheist catholic?isn't that a logical contradiction?to practice a
religion,for example Islam,first you should believe in one god,or at
least accept the concept!but an atheist is a person who denies this
concept!
My email is:armidas200@yahoo.com
mail me if you want and we can take this a little further.
Sincerely,
Hector
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