So What If Obama Were a Muslim?

Many years ago my father told me a poignant story about when he first came to America from Istanbul, Turkey.

Having grown up a Christian, Greek man in Istanbul he had experienced his share of prejudice. But it was all about religion.

In the late 1950s, in his 20s, my father came to New York on a boat from Istanbul. He was a waiter on the cruise liner along with many Turkish Christians and Muslims. They were all friends and found a common bond in their workingman ethos. So my father was shocked when the boat docked in Brooklyn, and one of the ship's crew told the dark-skinned men in the group they would have to stay on the boat that night.

My dad asked why the men, including one of his close buddies, had to stay behind, and the crewmember told him that they could be in danger if they ventured out without escorts into the American night because they were black men, albeit foreign black men.

My father realized in that moment, that not only was there bigotry in the land of the free, but it wasn't the garden variety he was accustomed to.

All his life it was about religious hatred....Muslims against Christians, Christians against Muslims.

But here, he realized, bias was mainly about skin color.

Until September 11th that is.

Race has been the linchpin in American bigotry, but after two planes flew into the World Trade Center towers, everything seemed to shift a bit.

Proof of the transformation has been evident during this presidential contest.

Rumors that Obama may be a Muslim are reported in the press as a "smear campaign."

Here's an interchange from 60 Minutes yesterday where Steve Kroft interviews Hillary Clinton:

KROFT: You don't believe that Senator Obama's a Muslim?

CLINTON: Of course not. I mean that's, you know, that, there is no basis for that. You know, I take him on the basis of what he says, and, you know, there isn't any reason to doubt that.

KROFT: You said you take Sen. Obama at his word that he's not a Muslim...

CLINTON: Right, right..

KROFT: ...you don't believe that he's a Muslim.

CLINTON: No! No! Why would I? There's nothing to base that on. As far as I know.

The tone in the press and on blogs makes it sound like Obama possibly being a Muslim would be on par with screwing around behind his wife's back, or being a pedophile.

So what if Barack Hussein Obama were indeed a Muslim? (I know he's not but I'm making a point here.)

Would you refuse to vote for him?

Now I'm not saying our nation has been tolerant of all religions. John F. Kennedy nearly didn't get elected because he was Catholic. And there haven't been any Jewish presidents yet, or Buddhists, or Hindus.

Religious discriminations has always been a subtext in a nation supposedly founded on religious tolerance. But 9/11 brought Muslims front and center.

Everyone is talking about how race shouldn't be an issue in this presidential campaign, but all the while disregarding how much of an issue religion has become, and there are no apologies for it.

Suddenly, we're not allowing the Muslims off the boat at night without an escort.

Follow Eve Tahmincioglu on Twitter: www.twitter.com/careerdiva

Comments

[barrycourage]

I supported Clinton because of her experience and what I believed to be her support of civil rights.

When I saw the 60 Minutes clip and her lukewarm damage control the following day, I began to regret that I pulled her lever in the primary voting booth.

Blacks, Jews, Latinos, LGBTs, and other minorities are the standards of contempt for the lowest bigot.

The ONLY response for Kroft was, "What's wrong with being a Muslim?"

Passive-aggressive pandering to bigots should cost her the party's nomination.

[efranklin]

Educated people understand that the vast majority of Muslims are peace-loving folks that want to coexist with Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Martians, etc. The problem is that whether we like it or not, Islam has been stigmatized to extreme levels in this country. "Islam" and "9/11" have been bandied about by the MSM for the past seven years in a manner similar to "cultism" and "Waco". It hits us all right in our stomachs. Many voters will not support a candidate that tickles their inner xenophobia. Any spreading of lies that Obama is a Muslim should be speedily responded to with the truth: Barack Obama is a Christian. Always has been. Always will be. Lies -- no matter how apparently innocuous or subtle -- should never play a role in this country's political process.

[WAdem]

Eve, the photo was leaked to DrudgeReport by Republican operatives. It tarnished both Hillary and Obama since the MSM took Drudge's word that it was leaked to them by a Hillary staffer instead of pursuing the actual source. Sure, that's where I would go with it if I were supporting Hillary. NOT!

[WAdem]

At issue is how the GOP will use Obama's race and religion or whatever they can spin into attack ads via the 501(c)(4) provision which allows Republicans to spend millions of dollars basically lying about Obama. These attacks will be prominently featured on TV in the Red states where Republicans normally do well do to the prejudice found there. It works as we have seen in the past and it is worse this year since the new provision prevents disclosure of who is behind these ads.

[trailrunner9]

The point of Obama being associated with being a negative is because is makes him much less likely to be elected, especially given the association these days with Muslims and 9/11, Middle Eastern terrorists,etc. as a means of villafying the religion to some and the xenophobia that certainly exists in some, but I'm even strictly speaking as Muslim simply being an out of the mainstream demographic. What cloud are you living on. Don't you understand it would hurt Obama to be of an outlier demographic. In this country, we have never elected a woman, an African American, a Morman (look at what Mitt Romney went through), and you really believe that being Muslim doesn't matter in terms of electability. I wish I were up there on that cloud with you. It sounds like a nice place to be.

[mouselion]

That cloud being -- the preamble to the constitution? The Dream of MLK? It was the mist of a dream, and still is to some degree. But, one that only becomes solid if you willing to stand on it.

[WASanford]

I just can’t imagine how any of you can not be suspicious of this!

“In their 2006 book The Way To Win, Mark Halperin and John Harris report that Ken Mehlman, the Republican Party chairman, kind of brags (as CNN host Howard Kurtz puts it) about utilizing the Drudge channel. They also write that:
"Drudge, with his droll Dickensian name, was not the only media or political agent whose actions led to John Kerry's defeat. But his role placed him at the center of the game -- a New Media World Order in which Drudge was the most potent player in the process and a personification of the dynamic that did Kerry in."
Matt Drudge. (2008, March 4). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 04:02, March 5, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Matt_Drudge&oldid=195810241

The photo that has you all atwitter showed up on the Drudge Report website along with claims that it came from the Hillary campaign. This was a stone that hit two birds. It associated Obama with the Muslim religion and made Hillary’s campaign look like it doesn’t play fair. Neither campaign made an appropriate reaction to it and the damage was done. This should serve as a warning to you that the right wingers are not going to play with kid gloves. They have the right wing smear machine up and running on all eight cylinders and winning the presidency will not be a cakewalk.

[WAdem]

Outstanding post!

[laurelnyc]

Thanks so much for writing about this! I have been extremely annoyed that no one has had the courage to publicly say that there is nothing wrong with being a Muslim. It pisses me off so much to watch all the hypocrisy in our current politics where politicians have to vigorously wave their Christian credentials in order to get elected. I'm ashamed that Obama, having had Muslim & atheist parents, hasn't been willing to stand up for non-Christians. Instead, he continues to proclaim forcefully that he is a Christian who believes in Jesus, blah blah. Repubican attacks have included that his mom was an atheist...­tell me why that is a bad thing? If anything, I think this world needs far more atheist leaders! I would've hoped that Obama who has had a culturally diverse background would've stood up more for other beliefs. Honestly I'm dismayed that the media hasn't discussed the religious intolerance in American politics. We talk on and on about gender and racial intolerance, but no one seems to care about the deeply ingrained religious intolerance.

[BusGreg]

"The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
The above is a verbatim quote of Article 6, last paragraph of the United States Constitution. What part of the last 21 words are so hard to understand?
I fully agree with Eve T. but I can not for the world figure out what the obsession with reigion is in this country when it comes to people running for office. Being of faith is ones prerogative but it is by no means a gurantee that a person of faith is either better qualified to run for office, nor is it a gurantee that a person of faith for some reason has better morals than a person of no faith. Wars are being fought in the name of ones God and much misery has been heaped upon people in the name of religion over the ages. From the Inquisition to the Catholic Priest scandals the list is endless.
I'd rather have an atheist run for office and devote his or her time to the job at hand. Run Government. If someone wants to preach, become a preacher but please stay the hell out of public office. The first ammendment guarantees ALL of us the freedom of religion, so the religious preference of any elected official should have absolutely no bearing on how that person votes or conducts his or her official duties.
I also find it rather strange that the socalled Bible Belt is home to the highest rates of divorce, out of wedlock babies and spousal abuse. So please tell this devout atheist what is so great about religion, ANY religion.

[stupidme]

The United States is a Christianist nation. Religious tests, taking the oath on the bible are de facto constitutional mandates. Why are we even having this discussion. The only remaining mandate is the lapel pin. This is what the people want. End of discussion. Jefferson, Madison and the rest had their day. Imagine a politician saying ... "the US Constitution does not require me to reveal my religion as it is not relevant and the same constitution makes no mention of a bible or swearing to god, nor requires the president to wear a uniform or emblem" Please, this country jumped the shark long ago.

[BusGreg]

Read your Constitution, particularly Article 6.
The Constitution can be downloaded from the National Archives. Here is the address:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html

[don]

"...no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

Article VI, US Consttution.

Look, as much fun as religous bigotry can be, rules are rules. Straighten up and get with the program. if you consider yourselves Americans.

[DoninJoisey]

It would not bother me if he were a Muslim. Wackos are not the exclusive property of any one religion. The Irish had Christian terrorists for years. The Oklahoma City bombing wasn't done by Muslim wackos.
How sad religion is even an issue.

[Clinton]

Unfortunately racism has intersected with xenophobia and religious bigotry, thanks to years of imperialism culminating (so far) in 9-11. We have a choice. We can continue to dehumanize the Muslim world or we can decide to learn about it. We know what dehumanization will bring: more of the same.

[mouselion]

The honorable reply from Clinton, when Kroft asked if she believed Obama was a Muslim, should have been along the lines of this:

"Of course not, he says he isn't, why shouldn't I believe him? Not that it matters if he is or not -- a candidate's or president's religion is a personal affair and has no place as an issue in a pluralistic society, as long as he or she upholds the constitutional oath of the office."

[laurelnyc]

I agree. It annoys me that neither Clinton nor Obama have had the courage to remind voters that religion is a private matter.

[BeeOplentee]

I think what happened at 9/11 resulted in a condemnation of Islam as a dark, bizarre cult.

Was the revelation that Osama and his Islamic nuts were fighting the CRUSADES again after the rest of the world viewed the crusades as an interesting adjunct to movie making? You know, knights in shining armor and all that, way back when? What the hell? Was this a weird sort of joke, we in the West asked?? How crazy!

On this basis, we French folks should be assaulting ROME (you know, that ancient empire in Italy!)

How absurd! This is why modern civilized people ridicule the abberation called Islam (in our humble opinion). Put that in your hookah and smoke it...

[LeftRight]

Except that the religious nutjobs who formed al qaeda were not trying to fight the crusades. Remember, the Muslims of the crusades were not trying to take over Europe, they were attacked in what was, by then, their own turf. When bin Laden attacked us, he was breaking the original mold, and replcing it with something that has been formed over the last ventury or so. However, bush WAS trying to fight the crusades again, so much so that he even used the word Crusade!

[Egghead]

I could not agree with you more. It's as though being a Muslim were somehow shameful.

[laurelnyc]

It's so sad to see how anti-Muslim sentiment is not even protested anymore.