|
MPAC D.C. News & Views - March 15, 2008
Islamophobia in the elections
I passed by a children's book entitled My Name Was Hussein and found it ironic that a brewing political controversy about Barack Obama is centered on his middle name, Hussein. The children's book is about a Muslim boy living in communist Bulgaria in the 1980s, when 1 million Muslims were compelled to change their identities through forced conversion.
The whisper campaign swirling around Sen. Obama's middle name definitely does not compare to the persecution of Muslims and other religious minorities in Europe, but it does indicate a nascent cancer in American political atmosphere.
Coinciding with his announcement that he's running for re-election, Congressman Steve King (R-IA) said recently on a local Iowa radio station that voters should take a look at "the optics" of Obama and said of his middle name, "we have to consider it an issue."
In this critical and defining presidential election, such comments debase the character of the American people. For a member of Congress to spew such a blatantly ignorant, misguided and false view has no place in the American political process.
While the Republican candidates have competed rhetorically in their anti-Islam remarks to get votes, the Democrats have largely shied away from talking about religion. That is, until the "Barack is a secret Muslim" venom has taken center stage in the presidential campaign. In countering that attack, Obama has repeatedly declared his Christianity while others have been left wondering, "So what if he were a Muslim?"
While European nations have largely been directly responsible for the violent persecution of their religious minorities, what sets America apart is the legal protections guaranteed by our Constitution which protect all racial, religious, and ethnic groups. However, America's current political culture stigmatizes Islam and Muslims in a manner similar to Europe's xenophobia.
A major consequence of the controversy over Obama's middle name is further marginalization of Muslim Americans in politics. Their diminished role ultimately deepens the perception both at home and abroad that America is intolerant of Islam, leading to sentiments of anti-Americanism and widespread belief that the United States is at war with Islam.
Many Muslim American organizations work to encourage the civic engagement of Muslims. The amount of pride felt by Muslim Americans about the election of Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) cannot be overstated. However, at the level of national conversation around Islam and Muslims in this election season, we are gravely disappointed by the spreading intolerance toward the possibility of Muslims in political life.
Candidates want our money and our votes but hesitate before being seen with us in public or accepting our campaign donations. Doing so would be political suicide, they say.
In reality, thousands of Muslims work for campaigns and government institutions, lead peace and reconciliation efforts between the United States and the Muslim world, and advocate for the healthy integration of Muslims into American mainstream society. Rather than honor those Muslims, our nation has disheartened them and our political leaders have accepted the dragging of Islam through the mud.
Millions of Muslims around the world have names like Hussein and Osama. So what?
Clear thinking, strong political leadership and intellectual honesty should help our country navigate its people through these treacherous political waters that result from religious and political extremism, both here and abroad. Islamophobia and anti-Americanism are opposite sides of the same coin. If you want to counter one, you must counter the other. Otherwise, you lose on both fronts.
Little Hussein, the title character of that children's book, was never accepted in his home, Bulgaria. For millions of Muslims in America, we will continue to work hard everyday to ensure our involvement and acceptance in civic affairs, and know that one day we'll historians will look back at this political episode with bewilderment.
|
