Do you think Obama will have the courage to say, "I am a practising Christian.
And so what if Hillary Clinton, John McCain or I were a Muslim?". If he says
it, will he gain voters or lose them?
Dilip
================================================================
From the NYT
Op-Ed Columnist
Obama and the Bigots By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: March 9, 2008
The ugliest prejudices in this campaign season are not directly about race.
Barack Obamas skin color may cost him some working-class white voters, but
its also winning some votes among blacks and among whites eager to signal
their open-mindedness.
Sexism seems more of a factor. Americans have typically said in polls that
they are less willing to vote for a woman than a black, and Shirley Chisholm (a
black woman who ran for president in 1972) always said that she encountered
more prejudice because of her sex than her race.
Yet the most monstrous bigotry in this election isnt about either
race or sex. Its about religion.
The whispering campaigns allege that Mr. Obama is a secret Muslim planning to
impose Islamic law on the country. Incredibly, he is even accused in earnest!
of being the Antichrist.
Proponents of this theory offer detailed theological explanations for why he
is the Antichrist, and the proof is that he claims to be Christian after all,
the Antichrist would say that, wouldnt he? The rumors circulate enough that
Glenn Beck of CNN asked the Rev. John Hagee, a conservative evangelical, what
the odds are that Mr. Obama is the Antichrist.
These charges are fanatical, Americas own equivalent of the vicious
accusations about Jews that circulate in some Muslim countries. They are less a
swipe at one candidate than a calumny against an entire religion. They
underscore that for many bigoted Americans in the 21st century, calling someone
a Muslim is still a slur.
There is a parallel with presidential campaigns in the 19th and early 20th
centuries, when one of the most common ways to attack a candidate was to
suggest that he was partly black, or at least favored racial intermarriage. For
example, the Federalists charged that Thomas Jefferson was the son of a
half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father. And the word
miscegenation was coined in 1863 and 1864 in charges that Abraham Lincoln
secretly plotted for blacks to marry whites, especially Irish-Americans.
As late as the 1920 presidential campaign, a quarter-million letters were
sent to voters accusing Warren Harding of being descended from a West Indian
Negro. ... May God save America from international shame and domestic ruin.
In looking back at that history, you wish that a candidate had responded not
only with, No, I dont have any black ancestor, but also with, So what if I
did?
Likewise, with countless people today spreading scurrilous rumors that Mr.
Obama is a Muslim, the most appropriate response is a denial followed by: And
so what if he were?
Granted, thats not politically realistic as a comeback. A 2007 Gallup poll
found that 94 percent of Americans said they would vote for a black candidate
for president and 88 percent for a woman. In contrast, a Los Angeles Times poll
in 2006 found that only 34 percent of respondents said they could vote for a
Muslim for president.
Even if a prejudice is directed to a matter of choice, like religion or long
hair, its still prejudice. Its possible to believe that Catholics have every
right to be president while opposing a particular Catholic candidate who would
ban contraception; likewise, its possible to believe that Muslims have every
right to hold office without necessarily embracing the candidacy of particular
Muslims who advocate enveloping all women in burkas.
To his credit, Mr. Obama has spoken respectfully of Islam (he told me last
year, on the record, that the Muslim call to prayer is one of the prettiest
sounds on earth at sunset). If he were to go further and so what if I were
Muslim? many Americans would see that as confirmation that he is a Sunni
terrorist agent of Al Qaeda who is part of a 9/11 backup plan: If you cant
reach the White House with a hijacked plane, then storm the Oval Office through
the ballot box.
This is a case where Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain should take the
initiative and denounce the fear-mongering about Mr. Obama as hate speech. The
wink-wink references to Barack Hussein Obama and lies about his going to a
madrassa are the religious equivalent of racial slurs, and Mr. McCain and Mrs.
Clinton should denounce them in the strongest terms. This is their chance to
show leadership.
When Mrs. Clinton was asked in a television interview a week ago whether Mr.
Obama is a Muslim, she denied it firmly but then added, most unfortunately,
as far as I know. To his credit, Mr. McCain scolded a radio host who
repeatedly referred to Barack Hussein Obama and later called him a Manchurian
candidate.
Martin Luther wasnt a model of tolerance but even he took the position that,
Id rather be ruled by a wise Turk than a foolish Christian. In this
presidential campaign, we should at least aspire to be as open-minded as
16th-century Germans.
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