Many of us on the liberal end of the political spectrum have heard the assertion time and again that our President is a Muslim and not a Christian. It is one of the last ditch efforts that republicans make when they want to dismiss great news like the burgeoning housing market, the improving jobs report or elevated consumer confidence. Of course, their other plan of attack, typically more from republican leadership rather than the man-on-the-street GOPer, involves social issues that we thought we resolved decades ago. Think: availability of contraception, access to abortions and education as a positive rather than a negative.
Still the faith of our President continues to be called into question and I continue to find myself having these conversations on a regular basis. Here are the points that I try to drive home each time that I do..
1. In a country that supposedly treasures separation of church and state, why does this matter? If you are a true constitutionalist, then the faith of the president or any other elected official should be moot.
2. What is your evidence? Let’s say that there are 8 pieces of evidence that say he is a Muslim. There are also more than 1,000 pieces of evidence that support the premise that he is a Christian. That would include, but is not limited to: His church attendance, speaking openly about his Christianity, images of him carrying the bible, and being baptized in the early 1990s. Why would you take the side that has the smaller quantity of proof rather than the more substantial and compelling body of evidence?
3. The Muslim faith does not speak to violence and, at the risk of repeating myself, why does the faith of our POTUS matter? I know, I know….GOPers are going to assert that Muslims are driven by their faith to kill Americans on our own soil and so the very core of their religion is dangerous in nature. This is why republicans do not want a mosque in their town, or their neighbor to be a Muslim, or their child to date someone from this faith. Because….They are out to get us!! In the same why that Christians act out their faith by wearing the cross, attending church, doing charitable acts or engaging in bible study, the Muslim faith dictates violence against Americans….right?? But if this were true, you have to ask yourself why they haven’t done this. Why was there no school shooting by a Muslim last week? No Muslim tainting our drinking water, or taking a gun to the local mall, or sitting atop a watchtower shooting at the ugly Americans. I mean, if I see Christians acting in a Christ-like manner every single day, why is it that I do not see acts of violence by Muslims every single day? In the last day or week or month or year, how many Muslim attacks on Americans on American soil have you read about in the news?
Because the premise of Muslims being a violent group is a myth. There is no evidence to support this premise and anyone who utters such words may as well wear a trucker cap that proudly states “I Am A Racist”. It is a distraction that we throw at our President because they cannot debate the real issues nor find fault with the economic progress that we have made thus far. It is because they are panicked and scrambling and falling into the abyss of fear.
These allegations will not end anytime soon and may even endure long after President Obama leaves office in January 2017. But liberals will continue to do what we have always done, which is shine a light on ignorance and fight stupidity with reason and enlightenment. Doing anything less is a disservice not just to Muslims, but to ourselves as well.
