TruthBook Religious News Blog

When Obama takes the oath of office, there's no reason not to include his middle name.
November 30, 2008

When George W. Bush was sworn in for his second term in 2005, he began his oath of office with the words: "I, George Walker Bush." Never mind that Bush isn't in the habit of using his middle name (as opposed to his middle initial, which became the title of an Oliver Stone movie). In inaugural oaths, as in baptisms and other ceremonies, the addition of middle names adds an appropriate note of solemnity.

No controversy surrounded Bush's inclusion of his middle name in the oath. The same might not be true of a decision by Barack Obama to take his oath as "Barack Hussein Obama" -- which is precisely why he should do so.

Stripped of such evil intent, the "Hussein" in Obama's full name shouldn't be taboo. Nor should the idea of an openly Muslim citizen deciding to seek the presidency. That point was made eloquently by former Secretary of State Colin Powell when he endorsed Obama. "Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?" Powell asked. "The answer is no. That's not America. Is there something wrong with a 7-year-old Muslim American kid believing he or she could be president?"

Most Muslim Americans believe in and are pursuing the American dream, and as Powell also noted, they are sometimes dying for it. Last year, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a survey concluding that American Muslims are "largely assimilated, happy with their lives and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world." The survey also found that "Muslim Americans reject Islamic extremism by larger margins than do Muslim minorities in Western European countries."

The way to increase those numbers is to make clear that an American with an Islamic faith -- or an Islamic name -- is not a second-class citizen. When the new president takes the oath, he should say, loudly and proudly: "I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Labels: American Muslims, Barack Obama, Colin Powell, inauguration, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

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Monday, November 03, 2008

Muslims In America

Powell's remarks solace for many
By LINDSAY WISE
Oct. 25, 2008

On the TV screen, former Secretary of State Colin Powell was telling host Tom Brokaw he was disturbed that some Republicans have been spreading rumors that Barack Obama is a Muslim.

"Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim," Powell said. "He's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no. That's not America."

...Powell's remarks seemed like a tonic for a presidential campaign that has often made them feel marginalized and vilified.

A humiliating feeling

From e-mail campaigns spreading false rumors that Obama is a secret Muslim to Republicans invoking Obama's middle name, Hussein, at rallies to cast doubt on his faith and background, Muslims resent the implication that their faith makes them unpatriotic or even dangerous.

Obama has clarified repeatedly that he is not a Muslim, but he has not denounced the prejudice behind the rumors, as Powell did last week.

Neither campaign has visited a single mosque on the campaign trail.

Recent studies by the Pew Research Center found that 35 percent of Americans have a negative view of Muslims and about half think that Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence.

The reality is that Muslim Americans are diverse, middle class, and mostly mainstream in their outlook, values and attitudes, according to a national survey published by Pew last year. In fact, Muslims tend to be much more conservative than the rest of the American public on hot-button social issues, such as prayer in schools, gay marriage and abortion, the survey reported.

And that's why Powell's remarks came as such a pleasant surprise.

As Obama shot ahead of McCain in the polls over the past few weeks, the media started buzzing about a possible "Bradley effect" — coined for 1982 California gubernatorial candidate Tom Bradley, who is black, and led in the polls until election day but lost. Analysts theorized that voters weren't honest with pollsters about their support for a black candidate.

In the 2000 presidential election, Muslims supported Republican George W. Bush over Democrat Al Gore, 42 percent to 31 percent, according to a Zogby International poll.

Three years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, however, Muslim support shifted decisively toward the Democratic Party. Only 7 percent of Muslims said they planned to vote for Bush for president in 2004, compared to 68 percent who backed Democrat John Kerry, Zogby reported.

This year, in Texas, the Muslim American Republican Caucus decided not to endorse the Republican nominee for president for the first time since the organization was formed in 2000. The caucus will still support Republicans in all local and congressional contests.

Board Member Farha Ahmed said the decision not to endorse McCain was based on several conferences with his national campaign in which the caucus asked officials to address Muslim voters' concerns about the war on terror, civil rights and anti-Muslim rhetoric attributed to McCain, his campaign and other GOP supporters.

In time, the idea of a Muslim becoming president of the United States might no longer seem so outrageous, said Ruth Nasrullah, the 47-year-old manager of an Islamic bookstore in Willis.

Labels: Barack Obama, Colin Powell, Lindsay Wise, Muslims, politics