Smearing Obama Posted by Shadi Hamid

Via Andrew Sullivan, I see that Obama has clarified that he is, in fact, Christian:

I just want to be very clear and this is obviously in no way an insult to the Muslim community who I respect deeply but I want people to know who I am. I am a Christian. I am a member of Trinity United Church of Christ.  I have been for 15 years. I have never practiced Islam and I think it’s important for people not to buy into these sort of fear tactics that people also often use during political games. People need to know the facts. These are the facts as I presented them and I hope that that at least does not become a reason for people not to want to vote for me."

I understand that Obama wants to set the record straight. He needs to do that. But I have a question. What's so bad about being Muslim? Why does calling someone a Muslim constitute a smear? It says a lot about conservatives that many of them wouldn't be willing to entertain the idea of a Muslim president. Because we're a fifth column, apparently, and we hate America, and all that. Well, to say that you're opposed to the idea of a Muslim president is plain-out racism, and we shouldn't indulge these attitudes or pretend they're legitimate positions to take. Anyway, that's a different issue. In any case, it apparently hasn't occurred to them that someone who has connections to the Muslim world (or whose father was Muslim, god forbid!) might actually do a better job of convincing the world 1.5 billion Muslims - and demonstrating through less antagonistic policies - that America is not diametrically opposed to Islam. But if we won the Uppercase War on Terror - also known as World War IV or, more recently, Cold War II - we'd have nothing left to fight for (or fight against), so never mind.

Comments

[Don Bacon]

US Constitution
Article VI. - Debts, Supremacy, Oaths
. . .no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Someday we'll get a presidential candidate that will have the courage to state: I stand on the Constitution--it's nobody's business what my religious beliefs are.

[Somebody wake up the Obama campaign]

Hear hear to the post and the comment above. Obama entirely misses the point, dropping a huge opportunity to re-frame the debate and fight back in a meaningful way. Instead he comes of as an apologist. Weak sauce, Senator. How is it his campaign always seems to be playing defense? And so poorly?

[Mike M.]

Are you surprised, Shadi? This is the guy who had an anti-homosexual bigot as part of his gospel tour. There's something ironic about Obama's willingness to throw minority groups under the proverbial bus.

[Chris]

What a load of tripe. To the extent Obama is being attacked here for his statement above by commenters I can only suggest you reread the first sentence and then consider--just the possibility--that he isn't distancing himself from Muslims in the remainder of the statement *he's stating that he's proud to be a member of the UCC*. Even if religion shouldn't matter in choosing a candidate, Obama's religion matters to him and (apparently) helpes to define who he is. There's nothing condemnable about his clarifying those beliefs to the public.

[Don Bacon]

Shadi's lost his MoJo for Obama. Inquiring minds want to know why (besides the downing of Muslims).

[Shadi Hamid]

don, I think you misunderstood my post. I'm not criticizing Obama. I expressly say: "I understand that Obama wants to set the record straight. He needs to do that." And then I say that Obama's knowledge of Islam and the Muslim world would help him if he became president: "In any case, it apparently hasn't occurred to them that someone who has connections to the Muslim world (or whose father was Muslim, god forbid!) might actually do a better job of convincing the world 1.5 billion Muslims - and demonstrating through less antagonistic policies - that America is not diametrically opposed to Islam."

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