Dear Internet,
I am sorry to inform you that, for all of your effort, Barack Obama remains decidedly not Muslim. Despite your attempts, he remains devout and outspoken about his Christian faith, and what it means to him and in today’s world. Good try, though!
This open letter, written by eight religious leaders spanning all religions and denominations, was written over a year ago, and yet the lies persist:
Many of you have seen hateful emails, blog postings and reports circulating on the Internet and in the media about Senator Barack Obama and his religious upbringing. These outrageous charges began as reports of his potential candidacy for President emerged and, as has become a shameful custom of modern politics, it has swirled through cyberspace with a vengeance and now has been picked up as fact by Fox News and some partisan commentators.
We are writing to deplore this despicable tactic and set the record straight. We have had enough of the slash and burn politics calculated to divide us as children of God.
So what’s the big deal? Why is calling him a Muslim or saying his middle name HUSSEIN HUSSEIN HUSSEIN so awful?
Well, first, because he’s not a Muslim, so it’s a lie. Second, it’s really not polite to Muslims to insinuate that he is Muslim. I am certain they wouldn’t wish to be mistaken for Christians. Third, though, is the most troubling, and something for which I am ashamed and disgusted by my countrymen.
In the last seven years, if not more, we have equated Muslim with Terrorist. By saying Obama is a “Secret Muslim,” people mean to imply he is a “Secret Terrorist.” Which, frankly, is stupid, because who on Earth would answer that way?
“Oh, I’m in sales. You?”
“I’m a terrorist. Yeah, real busy these last few years. Business is booming!”
It’s pretty disgusting race baiting, and if you don’t think so, I’ll ask you to indulge me this little game. Read the following sentences out loud:
Barack Obama is a Muslim.
Barack Obama is a Jew.
Barack Obama is a Catholic.
Barack Obama is a Klingon.
Barack Obama is a Jedi.
Be honest — which one made your knee jerk more? Which one less?
It’s an eternal fear of the other — he doesn’t look like us and his name is funny, and, frankly, he doesn’t talk like the average American. He uses, you know, words. Big ones! And smaller, smarter ones. So if we keep saying HUSSEIN MUSLIM HUSSEIN enough, people will snap out of the spell his pretty words have woven, and realize he’s just a Manchurian Muslim, hellbent fucking Liberty while we all take the happy pills!
And what, pray-tell, could he possibly do to Liberty that hasn’t already been done?
A relative of mine constantly refers to Barack as “B. Hussein Obama.” This allows her to reinforce the racist stereotype without coming out and being overtly racist. She also says the name “says something about his roots,” which is blatantly false, as he hardly knew the father that gave him his moniker. “He could have changed his name,” the argument goes. But who would not have seen that as simple political expediency? And why does no one say “H. Diane Clinton” or “J. Sidney McCain?”
Regardless, it got me to thinking. What really is in a name?
My favorite bit of name trivia comes from a Presidential Adviser, and not a President. Robert S. McNamara was the Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968. The S stands, literally, for Strange.
Robert Strange McNamara.
Robert Strange Hussein McNamara.
