Obama Should Do More To Reach Out To Muslims

My name is Sandi Mays Saunders. I am a 50 year old, married for 28 years, mother of two grown (23 and 25) children. I live in rural Virginia and work as a bookkeeper for a heavy construction company. I am only a high school graduate, no formal education, just the school of hard knocks. For this assignment, I asked my daughter to respond. She is 25 and although born and raised in Virginia as a Christian, she converted to Islam and married a wonderful young man from Pakistan (they live just outside Philadelphia, PA) and this is their response to the question, "How are Muslims responding to presidential campaign slurs?"

I support Barack Obama because I believe in his ideas for America. I specifically agree with his energy plan, his call for diplomacy around the world (even with our "enemies") and his promotion of public service and volunteerism.

I am profoundly disappointed in Americans who use 'Muslim' or 'Arab' as a slur and those who consider it to be a slur. These terms are used to frighten people away from Obama, but I believe they are also a slightly more socially-acceptable way of saying "he's black and that's scary," and they reflect a deep racist vein running through the U.S. The slurs are so effective because most people here WOULD have a problem with a Muslim president.

I'm glad to see McCain this week publicly standing up to some of his own supporters who have challenged him about these issues. I'm not sure why McCain allowed his campaign, his running mate and his supporters to plant the seeds of this hatred. Now when he stands up to rabid supporters who want him to call out Obama for "being a terrorist" he's booed. But his supporters are simply reacting to what he fed them.

Obama's response has been adequate, he's made it clear that he's a Christian and that anti-Muslim sentiment is a problem in the U.S. However, he should have done much more to reach out to the Muslim community. In his desire to distance himself from the rumors he has disappointed and alienated a lot of his Muslim and Arab supporters. His campaign is overly sensitive to any criticism about his "Islamic connections" -- the resignation of his Muslim Affairs coordinator, issues with his new Muslim Outreach director and the incident with the girls in headscarves in the crowd at one of his speeches are some examples of this delicate relationship. I wish he had ignored the right-wing attacks and showed that he wouldn't be manipulated by their fear mongering.

All these negative events and slurs have not changed how I see America, they have only reinforced my opinions. I was raised here and I'm well-aware of our horrible problems with racism and nationalism.

I never cease to be amazed at how extreme and deranged Republicans can be, but I still have hope. An Obama leadership could be the kind that gets us out of that terrible habit. A McCain administration would be disastrous and would not promote peace and tolerance here or anywhere else in the world.

Obama could address this specific form of racism by associating himself with American-Muslim organizations and leaders who are spreading positive and peaceful Islamic values. He has already acknowledged the Jewish values and traditions that he appreciates.

Publicly acknowledging the Islamic traditions that he appreciates would help fight the "Othering" of Muslims. His expansion and promotion of diplomacy and the Peace Corps will help Americans understand and cooperate with people in other countries rather than only meeting them in war.

Comments

[suzientn]

Why I Am Not Voting For Barack Hussein Obama
First, I believe that Obama is a Socialist. I came to this decision based on his past and present associations with known far- left radicals and, as well
as his ties to organizations in this country and governments abroad, all of which have endorsed his bid for the presidency, and his ideologies and tactics; namely, ACORN, Franklin Raines, Penny Pritzer, Jim Johnson, Carl Davidson of the New Party, George Soros, Aryeh Neier, Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, George Wiley, Wade Rathke, Saul Alinsky, Tides Foundation, Woods Fund, Chicago Annenberg Challenge, Ahmed Yousef, Muammar Khadafi, Louis Farrakhan, Yasser Khalil, Father Pfleger, Reverend Meeks, Rashid Khalidi, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Tony Rezko, Framk Marshall Davis, Howard
Machtinger, Jeff Jones, Steve Tappis and Mark Rudd, Khaleed Al-Mansoor, and many more. If anyone bothers to research the above list, and I have my doubts that anyone will from this blog site, they will find that Barrack Hussein Obama is not the Messiah, the Chosen One, if you will. You do not matter
to this man. The only thing that matters to Obama is Obama, who has been waiting for himself to come along to change America from a democratic society to a communist society. I, personally, enjoy the freedoms I have, such as being allowed to write this blog without fear. Ask youself why
millions of foreigners dream of living in America. Freedom. God bless it!

[Sandi7552]

Lord, did you drink the kool-aid. I would try but you are obviously a lost cause. Guilt by association is a two way street you know. Do you think there is not a long list of names at least as marginally connected to McCain as your list for Obama, that would be equally offensive to many Americans? I realize Obama might look like a messiah next to your prince of darkness but your hatred for the greatness of this country belies your last cheer. Freedom is embodied WHEN we have different voices at the table not when you are all kool-aid drinkers. I am a "Statue of Liberty American" and proud of that heritage and the promise of America. Obama will insure the greatness of America is restored and maintained. Get over it!

[suzientn]

Please supply me with the list. And, by the way, I love this country--don't know where you got the idea that I don't. I would like for America to remain a democracy, but I see it slipping away. America remains the greatest country on earth, and I take offense to anyone saying that it is not, such as yourself.

[zanzig]

"Obama should do more to reach out to Muslims"... and GLBT/Hindus/Jews/Irish and Visigoths, for all I know. While I fully understand and embrace the sentiment of the writer, I think the requirements of a presidential candidate is not the same as the requirements of a President, and special interest and minority groups are going to have to get used to the idea that we need to get our man in there first. That said, there have been some glaring cultural errors made by Sen Obama's campaign that could have been avoided very easily.

[MsCanadian]

At this point, I hear Obama focusing on the economy, but I suspect that once he is in office, he will do his utmost to promote tolerance and unity among people of different beliefs and faiths. His character attests to his humanitarian nature. Thanks for this article Sandi!

[Susan L. Travis - Huffpost Blogger]

McCain's "new nobility" did NOT help. Why could he not say, "No, ma"am, he"s not an Arab, and I need to state unequivocally that Barack Obama is a Christian, a man of integrity, and a patriotic American. If you believe otherwise, you are misinformed. If he WERE of the Muslim faith, that would NOT be a reason to fear him or to malign his character or patriotism. Our outrage should NOT be directed against people of other faiths, but against anyone who would employ violence against another for their beliefs, and that means us as well."

Instead, "No ma'am (he's not an Arab but rather) he's a decent family man citizen. (Don't confuse Arabs with decent citizens.)

No one seems to have noticed this - just watched Tom Brokaw going on about how at last with this comment, John McCain is demonstrating his noble compassionate side. Yuck.

Thanks for the article, Sandi!

[PixelMarx]

I appreciate your call to Barack Obama and the rest of the democratic party to be more forthright in their support for all Americans. However I'm quite confident that if Obama were to pursue what you suggest, he would not get elected. And for me, it's the end that will result in us finally being able to get beyond "arab" as a slur. It makes me sick, but it will make me far more sick if John McCain gets into office. November 5th is the date to mark.