Letter From America
Presidential candidates snub Muslim Americans
RECENTLY, two Muslim American women wearing the traditional Muslim headscarves, hijab, were barred by campaign volunteers from sitting directly behind the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, at a rally in Detroit. They did not want Muslim women wearing headscarves popping up in photographs behind Obama.
On his website and in his speeches Senator Obama aggressively denies internet rumors that he is a "closet Muslim," as though being a Muslim American is an indictment on one's character that disqualifies the person from holding the office of US presidency. (Who is a "closet Muslim" anyway? Someone who prays in the closet?)
Republican presumptive nominee Senator John McCain said in a 2007 interview with Beliefnet.com that he would prefer a Christian president to a Muslim one. On February 26, Senator McCain appeared at a campaign rally with his "spiritual guide" Rev. Rod Parsley who, in his book Silent No More, called Islam an anti-Christ religion, adding that Prophet Muhammad "received revelations from demons and not from the true God," and that "Allah was a demon spirit."
McCain supporter, Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King predicted: "If Obama is elected, al-Qaeda would be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11."
Although Senator Obama apologised to the two Muslim American women and Senator McCain disassociated himself from Congressman King's comments, the message to Muslim Americans was that Muslim American-bashing is fair game and carries with it no adverse political or litigatory consequences.
It is one thing to condemn terrorist organisations like al-Qaeda, which all Americans including Muslim Americans vigorously do; but it is quite different to demonise US citizens who happen to be Muslims, because of their faith. This is more troubling coming from Senator Obama, whose message of inclusiveness presumably does not include Muslim Americans.
Muslim Americans are waiting to hear Senator Obama and Senator McCain say that there is nothing wrong in being a Muslim American and that they are a welcome addition to the nation's religious diversity.
Despite warnings from African American Muslims, who constitute a plurality of Muslims in America, most immigrant Muslim groups endorsed George W. Bush in his 2000 campaign, only to find themselves penalised by the Bush administration as their communities were devastated by USA Patriot Act, the detention and deportation of Muslim immigrants and the security blanket that stifled them after September 11.
Muslim Americans are chagrined to find that both Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain court their votes behind the scenes, but would not do so openly. They covet Muslim American votes, while distancing themselves from Muslim Americans! What they forget is that in toss-up states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Virginia and New Jersey, Muslim American votes can make the difference in November.
In the 1996 New Jersey Senatorial race, major party candidates Robert Torricelli and Dick Zimmer courted Muslim New Jerseyan votes. When in a speech before a Jewish audience Mr. Zimmer accused Mr. Torricelli of addressing a Muslim gathering that included Hamas supporters, Muslim New Jerseyans asked Mr. Zimmer to clarify his comments. Mr. Zimmer remained silent.
Traditionally, many Muslim Americans vote Republican. In this case, over 90% of New Jersey Muslims voted for Democrat Mr. Torricelli, turning a close race into a 10% romp for Mr. Torricelli.
Xenophobia is alive and well in America. Indian American, Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, a Rhodes Scholar and a rising star in the Republican Party, had to disavow repeatedly that he was a Muslim as he ran for the US Congress and the governorship of Louisiana. Jindal is being touted as a Republican vice-presidential candidate. Recently, Senator John McCain invited Jindal to his home in Arizona.
Bobby Jindal will probably be introduced to the American people as a featured speaker in the Republican Party Convention in August; the same way Barack Obama was introduced to America as a featured speaker at the 2004 Democratic Party Convention, which launched Obama's presidential campaign. It is doubtful that Jindal would have been elected the youngest American governor (he was only 36) last October had he not converted to Catholicism from Hinduism.
After eight years of abuse by the Bush administration, Muslim Americans saw in Mr. Obama a refreshing champion of civil liberties, religious tolerance and diplomacy rather than war in foreign affairs, and decided to give the Democrats another look. However, if the Democrats continue to disrespect the Muslim Americans, who number 7 million, Muslim Americans may sit this one out.
Post 9/11, fear of Muslims has become a worldwide growth industry, and the condemnation of the Islamic faith has become acceptable in polite company. Ignorance of Islam and the Muslims is no longer an acceptable excuse. Information about the religion is available everywhere. There are over 55 Muslim-majority countries in the world, and at home and abroad many Americans have come in contact with Muslims, who number over 1.3 billion worldwide.
As a student of a Muslim-Christian school in Indonesia in his formative years, and as someone whose paternal grandfather was a Muslim, Mr. Obama is in a unique position to dispel some of the uglier rumors that circulate about Islam in the internet. Instead, he seems to be so petrified about the baseless internet rumours that he is a Muslim, that he does not want to be seen anywhere in the vicinity of Muslim Americans. Although Mr. Obama has visited numerous churches and synagogues, he has so far steadfastly refused to visit and be photographed in a mosque.
Muslim Americans are sophisticated enough to realise that the reason Barack Obama distances himself from Muslim Americans is not because he harbours secret prejudices towards them, but because so many Americans refuse to take Obama's word that he is a Christian, and deliberately mislabel him a "Muslim" in an attempt to destroy his presidential aspirations.
The real tragedy is that in secular America many still believe that it is possible to damage a candidate's electoral fortunes by misrepresenting his religious affiliation as something other than Christian.
Fear-mongering and alienating the world's Muslims are not going to help America. Muslims of the world are not going away. Republicans and Democrats should enlist the support of the Muslim Americans, and though demonstrated goodwill towards them get the world's moderate Muslims on America's side, isolate the extremists and promote America's interests in the Islamic world.
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