Obama, Being Called a Muslim Is Not a Smear - Updated

Hillary Clinton denied leaking the photo of Barack Obama wearing a turban, but her campaign manager says that even if she had, it would be no big deal. "Hillary Clinton has worn the traditional clothing of countries she has visited and had those photos published widely."

Sure, she did. And George W. Bush put on a fetching Chamato poncho in Santiago, while Paul Wolfowitz burned up YouTube with his antimalarial African dance routines when he was World Bank prez. The obvious difference is this: when white politicians go ethnic, they just look funny. When a black presidential contender does it, he looks foreign. And when the ethnic apparel in question is vaguely reminiscent of the clothing worn by Iraqi and Afghan fighters (at least to many Fox viewers, who think any headdress other than a baseball cap is a declaration of war on America), the image is downright frightening.

The turban "scandal" is all part of what is being referred to as "the Muslim smear." It includes everything from exaggerated enunciations of Obama's middle name to the online whisper campaign that Obama attended a fundamentalist madrassa in Indonesia (a lie), was sworn in on a Koran (another lie) and if elected would attach RadioShack speakers to the White House to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer (I made that one up).

So far, Obama's campaign has responded with aggressive corrections that tout his Christian faith, attack the attackers and channel a cooperative witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee. "Barack has never been a Muslim or practiced any other faith besides Christianity," states one fact sheet. "I'm not and never have been of the Muslim faith," Obama told a Christian News reporter.

Of course Obama must correct the record, but he doesn't have to stop there. What is disturbing about the campaign's response is that it leaves unchallenged the disgraceful and racist premise behind the entire "Muslim smear": that being Muslim is de facto a source of shame. Obama's supporters often say they are being "Swiftboated," casually accepting the idea that being accused of Muslimhood is tantamount to being accused of treason.

Substitute another faith or ethnicity, and you'd expect a very different response. Consider a report from the archives of The Nation. Thirteen years ago, Daniel Singer, the magazine's late, much-missed Europe correspondent, went to Poland to cover a hotly contested presidential election. He reported that the race had descended into an ugly debate over whether one of the candidates, Aleksander Kwasniewski, was a closet Jew. The press claimed his mother had been buried in a Jewish cemetery (she was still alive), and a popular TV show aired a skit featuring the Christian candidate dressed as a Hasidic Jew. "What perturbed me," Singer wryly observed, "was that Kwasniewski's lawyers threatened to sue for slander rather than press for an indictment under the law condemning racist propaganda."

We should expect no less of the Obama campaign. When asked during the Ohio debate about Louis Farrakhan's support for his candidacy, Obama did not hesitate to call Farrakhan's anti-Semitic comments "unacceptable and reprehensible." When the turban photo flap came up in the same debate, he used the occasion to say nothing at all.

Farrakhan's infamous comments about Jews took place 24 years ago. The orgy of hate that is "the Muslim smear" is unfolding in real time, and it promises to greatly intensify in a general election. These attacks do not simply "smear Barack's Christian faith," as John Kerry claimed in a campaign mailing. They are an attack on all Muslims, some of whom actually do exercise their rights to cover their heads and send their kids to religious school. Thousands even have the very common name Hussein. All are watching their culture used as a crude bludgeon against Obama, while the candidate who is the symbol of racial harmony fails to defend them. This at a time when US Muslims are bearing the brunt of the Bush administration's assaults on civil liberties, including dragnet wiretapping, and are facing a documented spike in hate crimes.

Occasionally, though not nearly enough, Obama says that Muslims are "deserving of respect and dignity." What he has never done is what Singer called for in Poland: denounce the attacks themselves as racist propaganda, in this case against Muslims.

The core of Obama's candidacy is that he alone -- who lived in Indonesia as a boy and has an African grandmother -- can "repair the world" after the Bush wrecking ball. That repair job begins with the 1.4 billion Muslims around the world, many of whom are convinced that the United States has been waging a war against their faith. This perception is based on facts, among them the fact that Muslim civilians are not counted among the dead in Iraq and Afghanistan; that Islam has been desecrated in US-run prisons; that voting for an Islamic party resulted in collective punishment in Gaza. It is also fueled by the rise of a virulent strain of Islamophobia in Europe and North America.

As the most visible target of this rising racism, Obama has the power to be more than its victim. He can use the attacks to begin the very process of global repair that is the most seductive promise of his campaign. The next time he's asked about his alleged Muslimness, Obama can respond not just by clarifying the facts but by turning the tables. He can state clearly that while a liaison with a pharmaceutical lobbyist may be worthy of scandalized exposure, being a Muslim is not. Changing the terms of the debate this way is not only morally just but tactically smart -- it's the one response that could defuse these hateful attacks. The best part is this: unlike ending the Iraq War and closing Guantánamo, standing up to Islamophobia doesn't need to wait until after the election. Obama can use his campaign to start now. Let the repairing begin.

From The Nation
www.naomiklein.org


Update:

Ari Melber has criticized this column, citing a video the Obama campaign has been circulating featuring a member of Obama's church who makes is clear that while Obama is not a Muslim, there would be nothing wrong with it if he was. I had the same clip sent to me directly from the Obama campaign and wrote this in response:

"What I am suggesting needs to be said can only be said by the man himself, just as he has taken brave stances against racism directed at Latinos under the guise of fighting illegal immigration. Do not underestimate the message that his silence is sending, not just in the U.S. but around the world."

One more thing: now is the time when candidates are most open to pressure. For instance, Hillary Clinton just announced that she will co-sponsor legislation to ban the use of private military companies -- exactly one day after my Nation colleague Jeremy Scahill revealed that both Clinton and Obama were poised to let the mercenaries stay in Iraq even if the troops come home. Pushing candidates on the issues during a campaign can have a real impact, so can we please move beyond superfandom? I have also heard from people who think that saying Arabs and Muslims are worthy of exactly the same rights and protections as other minorities is just too high-risk a position for Obama during the campaign. If that's the position, so be it, but don't pretend the campaign is doing something it is not. It is precisely because he has been so strong on other issues of discrimination and racism that his trepidation on this issue leaps out.

Comments

[NoFactsJustTruth]

I'm not so sure, Naomi, that he shouldn't save some of those type moves for the general, he's certainly bound to run into some real republicant attempts at swift-boating, trying to make OUR country think the Muslims are taking over if a Democratic choice is made. It IS an excellent idea, but perhaps it should be kept in the pocket for the desperation attacks that are sure to come from the GOP.

Perhaps for now, the head-shaking should be the preferred choice of responses, since a seeming irrepressible movement is already taking hold in Texas, and more and more every day are getting on board rather than see their votes, as in New Hampshire, become irrelevant­..

Great food for thought, and you're right that the preznutz' wrecking ball has done considerable damage to OUR image as a compassionate country that LOVES freedom and DOES NOT pre-emptively invade and occupy sovereign nations, for THEIR natural resources.

With lobbyists still writing policy and legislation in CONgress, via their legal BRIBES, ANY administration that follows will have REAL trouble making ALL the changes needed to repair neoCON damage to OUR country.

But, I'd much rather have someone actually wanting to try and 'fix' OUR Government, instead of someone ONLY pretending to try because of the lobbyists money that has ALREADY been accepted..

[DRaymond]

One of the principle rules of modern politics is don't get pulled off-message by the other side. In fact a great many of the stupidest attacks made in a campaign are primarily made to pull the opposite side off-message

Obama wants to keep the message on hope and changing the environment in Washington.

If Obama instead goes to a great length to make an impassioned case against Islamophobia, guess what he ISN'T talking about.

[hark]

I would like to see how the candidates would react if the smear campaign accused them of being atheists or agnostics.

[NorthernCross]

You can't denounce "Muslim" as "racist propaganda", because Islam is not a race. We need to quit with this PC assault on the English language in America before we go the way of the UK, where any publicized criticism of the religion is inevitably followed by cries of racism.

[banats]

I felt that Senator Obama missed an opportunity to show some leadership in the debate when Russert asked him about the reports that he was a Muslim by pointing out that Muslim Americans have the same rights as any other person in the US regardless of race, color, or creed. Obama is schooled in constitutional law and the candidate who says that he is the most capable of uniting all Americans. If that is the kind of leader that he wants to be, then he should speak up for the rights of Muslims in this country even if it means that he will lose some votes. And yes, Senator Clinton could demonstrate the same leadership by denouncing the implication that there is something wrong with being Muslim and American. Most Christians were not Nazis and Fascists when Germany and Italy , predominantly Christian courntries, were terrorizing the European continent and most Muslims are not terrorists. Hold your tongue until you're elected? Allow prejudice to fester? No, take the reins of leadership.

[shrimptonmcclams]

You are basically correct. But first the nation needs to be shown the despicable tactics that have been used for years by Republicans. Most particularly the criminal and putrid attacks of that low-life pig Karl Rove. And now they've been used, to my infinite regret, by fellow Democrats. Once enough people understand this, and we can actually have two candidates who will debate the issues, then the healing can begin. But not before.

[MichaelAMundy]

Naomi, once again, you add a proper perspective to an important issue. I say this considering growing fears against Islam is now too much a part of the American mindset since September 11, 2001. Unfortunately, these unfounded, wholesale, negative sentiments and public opinions resulting from calculated political manipulations and fear mongering by the current US administration and its surrogates leave the society confused and frightened to the point of absurdity. Accordingly, I concur that the ongoing US presidential election processes proffer a timely opportunity in commencing the required debate for a national attitudinal change toward people of the Muslim faith as an extension of an honest, principled, enlightened, and morally promising politics of hope and respect for our neighbors. It is in celebrating our many differences globally that America stands to demonstrate its greatest strengths whilst earning the admiration of the rest of the world. To that end, Senator Barack Obama is one best suited and capable in challenging and motivating a return of respectful national attitudes toward our neighbors by highlighting our similarities while responding to issues of his Christian faith. With leadership comes real and sustainable change, and on that score he is proving himself ever the motivating man of the hour.

[JacktheBlogger]

This whole debate is so ridiculous but then in politics, politicians usually appeal to the lowest common denominator among the citizenry. If Obama were really trying to bring all of us together, he would not try to duck the issue - but then, he'd lose the election.

The fact of the matter is that Obama has a Muslim middle name, even though he is a Christian. He could have long ago decided to legally change his name from Barack Hussein Obama to Barack Obama. If he did not, he should be able to live and defend his decision to do so.

When Bill Clinton was running for president, there was a similar controversy about Hillary Clinton's use of Hillary Rodham Clinton as her full name. Traditional folk were ticked off with the insertion of her maiden name as her middle name. It took a while for America to get over that one, but we eventually did.

In fact, if Hillary beomes the president, it is almost certain that she will take the oath of office as "I, Hillary Rodham Clinton, do solemnly swear..." I am not sure that if Obama becomes the president that he will take the oath of office as, "I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear..."

Shakespeare had rightly said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." It's time that Obama took the bull by the horns and addressed the middle name issue.

As far as addressing the Muslim issue - I doubt he will - he has more to lose than gain by defending the Muslim faith at this point of time. One hopes that he will, if he is elected president - it is critical to winning the war on terrorism.

[Geoffreys]

Hussein is a muslim name? Since when? Not everyone who speaks Arabic is Muslim. My middle name is Alan - does that automatically identify me as Christian? Hussein and Alan mean essentially the same thing but no one has asked me to defend my name.

[JamesCal]

point well made... Sen. Obama should not have to defend a name that was essentially given to him by his grandparen­t's... His "MUSLIM" (lets all be scared) grandparents named his father Barack Hussein Obama Sr.... His ATHEIST, Kenyan father passed along the name and thats all there is to it... He didn't grow up with his Kenyan grandparents, or his father for that matter.... So let's just all drop it....

[BDuPont]

So this is what the much-bandied melting pot really comes down to .... Americans fearing and smearing a muslim name, and reveling in the shameful circus.

The real question to understand is: why have Americans always been so insecure in themselves that they desperately need to hate and revile another people, not to mention revel in lynchings and torture?

Perhaps Obama is too good for America ... do such violent and intellectually slothful people deserve a good leader?

[PioneerKing]

The comments are not a smear and that's not what the Obama folks are concerned about. They are concerned that the fear and loathing that the republicans have drummed up against Muslims will cloud the judgment and consciousness of folks to rise above religious or racial prejudice. Obama is not afraid of being regarded as a Muslim it the post September 11 fear that the republicans play upon.

The unfortunate aspect is that the republican party fails to see that their bigotry will inhibit Muslims worldwide to feel as though they should be party to America's call to Muslims join in the fight against global terrorism. The republicans claim that the biggest threat to the world is global jihadisim yet the republicans are alienating Muslims who would be willing to stand with America in its fight.

Republicans don't understand that Muslims are of every race and nationality not just Arabs, middleastern and the bigotry of the republican party will not leave America better off when dealing with global terrorism. Muslims around the world who love America and would join in the fight to help influence the hearts and minds of those Muslims who might fall prey to the brainwashing of jihadisim are turned off by the vitriolic rhetoric of the republican party.

[LonghornDem]

Wow, does this ever completely miss the point. Obama's not saying that being called Muslim is a smear, nor are any of his supporters. What is a smear is the spreading of a fictitious rumor that plays on peoples' racism and fear. I appreciate what you're trying to say, but turning the tables on an asinine accusation only dilutes the denial. Nobody can doubt that Obama is coming with a message of unity that reaches out to all, including Arabs, Muslims, etc. No need to thin out your clarification of the truth with a counterargument. I'm perfectly happy with them just shaking their heads at the Clinton campaign, because that's all this pathetic attack deserves.

[eshalom]

Your egregious, false charge that these "accusations" are coming from the Clinton campaign is in line with Obama's entire strategy ever since New Hampshire to repeatedly inject the race/ethni­c/religion card to discredit the Clintons whose civil rights record is impeccable. I think this is deplorable, and the Obama campaign should be held accountable.

Incidentally, If you look at Hillary Clinton's record as a US Senator, she's worked across the aisle with Republican colleagues and accomplished much more than Obama has ever thought of doing. She's the one who has actually demonstrated the ability to bring the country together. Obama is all talk, no action.

[shinybear]

Point well taken- still I'd rather vote for the candidate who didn't speak out quite as strongly against anti-Muslim attacks as he could have to the candidate- who for some reason you've ignored- played the Muslim card to begin with- playing on fear and hatred- for her own political gain.

[jerseywolf]

I voted for Obama. But I agree with Naomi Klein's post in its entirety.
.

[DownwithFearMongers]

Everybody needs a reality check and grow up.Do you really think that Obama doesnt want to go after these rasicsts!Of course he does!But this isnt the "who has the higher moral ground election" this is the presidential election.Y­OU HAVE TO PICK YOUR BATTLES!This is not the time to do this.If he sticks his neck out right now it will be chopped off by not only republicans but by easily scared democrats. If you stop to really think about it do you honestly think that someone that has had to deal with being discriminated against his whole life,because of his name, isnt going to put a stop to this nonsense the second he has the power to do so.Come on everybody WAKE UP!

[Mikie]

Naomi, the problem with your point is that the photo and use of Barack's middle name are not about smearing Islam, but about tainting the public perception of Obama based on racism and linking him to the Muslim faith and terrorism. Would you be OK with “someone” putting out photos of Hillary dressed as a lesbian and linking her to a lesbian lover? I doubt it. And, would your concern be because being a lesbian is bad, or because painting Hillary in this fashion is not only incorrect it is reprehensible, because it depends on bigotry that shouldn't exist but does in our society. The photo, the email that went around a few weeks ago, and using Obama’s middle name to invoke a negative response are the worst kind of politics.