John McCain: I am an Arab and a Decent Man

Today my office issued the following statement, which includes my comments:

Dr. James Zogby says, "Enough is enough!"

Washington D.C. - October 11, 2008 -We are disturbed by the degree to which 'Arab' has become the metaphorical mud to sling against your opponent. Last week, for example, the Republican Jewish Coalition released a document in which they use the term Pro-Arab as a pejorative accusation. For his part, Rush Limbaugh has joined in by declaring that Obama is in fact an Arab American. Then, last Friday, after a supporter called Senator Barak Obama "an Arab", Senator John McCain came to the defense of of his political opponent by saying, "No, ma'am. He's a decent family man and citizen..." From this we are left to infer that an Arab man is less then a "decent family man."

Dr. James Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute, says, "Enough is enough! From the beginning of this campaign there have been those who have used 'Muslim' and 'Arab' in an effort to smear Barack Obama. This exploitation of bigotry and the stoking of racist fires to forward an agenda is reprehensible. This is not only offensive to Arab Americans, but to all Americans. As any ethnic group who has ever been used to scare the electorate knows, this is a dangerous game that, tragically, can get innocent people hurt.

"And while we are pleased to see that the senator is trying to dispel rumors about Senator Obama, we feel the need to point out that Arab Americans are also decent men and women with full rights of citizenship as enumerated under the Constitution. Arab Americans are part of the great melting pot that is this country's strength. We work towards peace in the Middle East along side our Jewish partners. We raise our sons and daughters to be model citizens of this nation. We serve this country with honor. The suggestion that any ethnic group is treacherous and Anti-American is unacceptable, dangerous, and unbecoming of such a great nation."

Comments

[AZterritory]

The world would be a very different place without the culture that gave us algebra, astronomy, advanced medicine, the astrolabe and other navigational instruments and techniques--to name only a few. After living in the middle east (Oman) for 3 years, I was pleased to be able to translate Senator Obama's first two names as blessed and strong---sounds to me pretty much what we could all use in the USA right now.

[MagisterLudi]

Agreed. Muslim civilization gave the world many wonderful things. Islamic civilization also preserved some achievements of Classical Greece and Rome giving rise to Renaissance. Give credit where credit is due. Unfortunately, the meteoric rise of Islamic cvilization was fall by a precipitous delcine that still puzzles historians. Alarmin statistic-- Arab countries' output of books represents just 1.1 percent of the world total (with religious books constituting over 15 percent of this.).... Books are censored, few are produced, and the proportion of religious books is three times the world average.
Five times as many books are translated into Greek (spoken by just 11 million people) as Arabic ( over 2 billion). Maybe rich Islamic elites should work on raising education levels thus bettering lives of their citizens, buy less yachts and spend less time getting cushy Western jobs.

[LaMees]

Agreed on the greed and excesses of most of the Gulf Arab leaders. However, I would ask that you research the claim of 2 billion Arabs (Arabs are defined as those who speak Arabic (mother tongue)). There are, in fact, approximately 1 billion Muslims in the world, of this number only a small percentage are in fact Arabs. The bulk of the Muslim world is made up of Asians. I advise you to research Indonesia and compare its ethnographic figures with that of the Arab world. Have a great day!

[truthforme]

Thank you sir, for speaking for those of us who were offended by McCain's words. I am not Arabic, but I was deeply offended by his statement.

[aurakel]

Greymom: "I am curious as to what the name "Hussein" actually means in Arabic. "

This is from an article "reference below"

"Hussein is from the Semitic word, hasan, meaning "good" or "handsome.­" Barack is a Semitic word meaning "to bless". as a verb or "blessing" as a noun. In its Hebrew form, barak, it is found all through the Bible. It first occurs in Genesis 1:22: "And God blessed".

Now, since Arabs are Semites and Arabic and Hebrew are Semitic languages, is it fair to claim that those bigots are anti-Semitic?

http://www.juancole.com/2008/02/barack-hussein-obama-omar-bradley.html

[lbcyclist]

Actually, barak in Hebrew means lightning. The Hebrew parallel to Barack ("blessed") is Baruch, same as in Baruch College, NY. The Egyptian president's last name, Mubarak, is another version of the same word and would be in Hebrew "mevorach".

[Scouty]

AMEN!!! Thanks for saying it.

[sherbug]

AMEN!!! AMEN!!! AMEN!!!!. Finally somebody said it. This is enough.

[JohnnyBoyyy]

Thank you, Dr. Zogby, for reminding us "basic caucasian" Americans that we must always be aware of all the forms of bigotry that our fellow citizens are subjected to. I see that you have dedicated your life to Arab American causes that all of us should try to better understand in our efforts to become more global minded.

I believe that our new President must be a beacon for better understanding and compassion for other cultures. America has not received a good grade in these matters throughout our short history. I feel that Mr. Obama, with his exposure to a wide range of cultures and economic realities, will become a much needed role model for all Americans.

Please know, Mr. Zogby, that not all Americans equate the words Arab, Muslim, Israeli, or Middle Eastern with "terrorist". BUT, we all need reminding, from time to time, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

Thank You.

This is OUR Time - This is OUR Moment.

Obama/Biden '08/12!!!

[MagisterLudi]

Please know, Mr. Zogby, that not all Americans equate the words Arab, Muslim, Israeli, or Middle Eastern with "terrorist­."
I absolutely agree. But I've yet to see many Arab opinion makers ( Dr. Zogby included) that haven't at one time or another called Israel a terrorist state. While military actions by Syria are ignored with boys- will- be-boys wink. These kind of opinions are also part of the problem, not part of the solution.

[TigerShoes]

Thanks. I thought it was going to go unscrutinized. It speaks of horrible twists in the mind.

[JustADumbFireman]

Salaam!

[Sparty1]

Thank you James. I've been so tired of the new code word of "oh he's a Muslim, so I can't vote for him.". That's a load of BS and they know it. What in the blue hell is our country coming to? At first, they didn't like blacks, then it was the Arabs and now the Mexicans. In the words of Rodney King, can't we all just get along?

[MagisterLudi]

There was a time when Irish Catholics were frown upon. And Poles and Ukranians and Vietnamese The worked their way into the mainstream. Asian Americans also suffered tremendous discrimination. Now they're American success story.
There' considerable racial tension between African Americans and Latinos. There's considerable resentful toward emerging Latinos majorities in politics and government jobs.
But things tend to work out and settle down as long long as community leaders work hard to calm down and educate their communities about the "other."

[trishamcmillian]

Fantastic Mr. Zogby! I too was immediately put off by the inference that Obama couldn't be Arab. He was a decent man....I truly hope that isn't what Mr. McCain meant to imply...no­netheless.­...it IS how it sounded.

Thanks for the Post.

[trishamcmillian]

With apologies.­..a correction­.....Dr. Zogby.

[faithfully]

I think the response to all those who insinuate that Obama is Moslem, Islam, Arab is "no he is not, but there is nothing wrong with being an American of Arab or Moslem descent. They are "real", hard working Americans too"

[caterpol]

Thank you for pointing out something that I, to my shame, missed.

That said, it should come as no surprise that the GOP is once again inciting the xeonphobes and racists.

Afterall, this is the same GOP that proudly renamed French fries, Freedom fries, and they weren't speaking tongue in cheek. It's hard to imagine a population silly enough to pride themselves over such foolishness when this clearly should have embarassed the crp out of them.

[CommonSensePlease]

WE ARE ALL ARAB AMERICAINS! Since Friday, I have become one!

[Heavenhelpusall]

We are all Africans, the original man.

[MagisterLudi]

We all came out of the ocean.

[joshuahmcdonald]

Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein Hussein! So there!

What a bunch of racist morons.

Personally, I would vote for a half black, half Chinese atheist transgender named Adolf Hussein Stalin-Marx if he was going to move our country in the right direction.

We have SERIOUS problems: The economy, the environment, energy, war, health care, poverty, Russia, China, Iran, religious fundamentalism (both global and domestic), etc. We need a President who understands the interconnectedness of these issues and can bring people together to solve our common problems to progress our common interests.

While Obama is neither an Arab nor a Muslim that is completely irrelevant. He is the right man for the job. Period. We certainly do not need a school yard bully and his hate-mongering toady.

[Stravinsky]

I'm not sure Americans are educable on these kinds of points.

It's along the lines of the anti-gay marriage referendums on ballots in 3 states. Opponents of gay marriage continue to present their arguments in fearful and purposefully misleading ways, which always work. Always.

I've given money and time to the No on 8 campaign in CA, and it is well funded and headed by smart people, and I see it as their campaign to lose.

I'd like to see us come out with a counter campaign that comes right out and says "It is stupid and Unamerican to support any kind of law that denies people equal rights. Don't be stupid and Unamerican­."

If we still lose after that, I will feel the issue had been fully and clearly spelled out and I will have given $ wisely.

May the Universe help us all.

[Stravinsky]

I'm not sure Americans are educable on these kinds of points.

It's along the lines of the anti-gay marriage referendums on ballots in 3 states. Opponents of gay marriage continue to present their arguments in fearful and purposefully misleading ways, which always work. Always.

I've given money and time to the No on 8 campaign in CA, and it is well funded and headed by smart people, and I see it as their campaign to lose.

I'd like to see us come out with a counter campaign that comes right out and says "It is stupid and Unamerican to support any kind of law that denies people equal rights. Don't be stupid and Unamerican­."

If we still lose after that, I will feel the issue had been fully and clearly spelled out and I will have given my wisely.

May the Universe help us all.

[greymom]

I am curious as to what the name "Hussein" actually means in Arabic. I am told that there are Coptic Christians as well as Arabs with this name. Is it a common name like Smith or Jones? Does it have a positive meaning like Queen Noor Hussein which was "Light of Hussein?"

What struck me this past week is that the woman who was interviewed by McCain at a town hall meeting said that "I don't like him and I have read about him, he is an Arab." Do people like this only read blogs and lies put out by the right?

The McCain camp benefits by the lack of curiousity of their supporters to find out the truth about Barack Obama. His continued exposure in debates and film clips really puts to rest that he is dangerous or foreign.

It might be fun if they start to introduce McCain as John Sydney McCain III, and that would paint him as a "elitist" which is a label that they have managed to tack on to the up by the bootstraps Barack.

[tigerakabj]

"Hussein" means handsome. "Barack" means blessed. In Hebrew, it also means "lightning rod of God."

These folk are ignorant and proud of it.