(Bernd Debusmann is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the summer of 2006, a Gallup poll of more than 1,000 Americans found that one out of four favoured forcing Muslims in the United States, including U.S. citizens, to carry special identification. About a third said Muslims living in the U.S. sympathized with al Qaeda.
Almost a quarter said they wouldn’t want a Muslim as a neighbour. Republicans, the poll said, saw Muslims in a more negative light than Democrats and independents, and were more opposed to having Muslim neighbours. Fewer than half those polled thought U.S. Muslims were loyal to the United States.
A few months after the poll, callers to a Washington area radio talk show suggested branding Muslims with crescent-shaped tattoos and special stamps in their identity papers, the better to spot potential terrorists.
Polls are snapshots of attitudes, and attitudes can change. But incidents during the U.S. presidential election campaign, now in its final sprint towards November 4, show that fear and suspicion of Muslims persist undiminished and are being used as a political weapon.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell became the most prominent member of the U.S. establishment to highlight the problem when he broke with John McCain, the Republican candidate and a personal friend of decades, to endorse Barack Obama, target of a prolonged campaign by activists who portray him as a Muslim.
One of his reasons: “I’m troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the (Republican) party say,” he told a television interviewer this week. “And it is permitted to be said such things as ‘well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.’ Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian.
“But the really right answer is, what if he is?” Powell continued.
“Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no, that’s not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion ‘He (Obama) is a Muslim and might be associated with terrorists.’ This is not the way we should be doing it in America.”
It was the first time that a senior figure of the American establishment had countered suggestions that Obama adheres to Islam by saying “So What?”, a question that should not be surprising in a country of immigrants that prides itself of its diversity. But the association is so toxic that even Obama himself has never asked that question.
FEAR AND BIGOTRY
Obama routinely denies the false notion that he is Muslim and stresses his commitment to Christianity and his regular church attendance. The website Obama has set up to rebuff a wide range of rumours notes the fact that he was sworn into the Senate on his family bible. That he finds it necessary to spell this out speaks volumes about a climate of fear and bigotry.
And about Obama’s caution: the first Muslim to win a seat in the 435-member House of Representatives, Keith Ellison, caused a storm of cyberspace criticism when he carried a Koran to his 2007 swearing-in ceremony. The hubbub subsided when it emerged that the Koran he used was once owned by an American with impeccable credentials - Thomas Jefferson.
Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota, was the only Muslim in the House until last March, when he was joined by Andre Carson, a fellow Democrat from Indianapolis. Estimates of the number of Muslims in the United States range from 1.8 to more than 5 million. (The U.S. Census Bureau does not cover religious affiliation).
As the long election campaign neared its end, an obscure New York-based non-profit group called the Clarion Fund provided a textbook example of how fear of Muslims can be used for political ends.
The fund paid 70 newspapers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Colorado, Iowa, Florida, Wisconsin, Nevada, New Hampshire and Virginia to deliver, as an advertising insert, 28 million copies of a documentary on radical Islam. These are all swing states where the Obama vs McCain fight is close.
The one-hour documentary, entitled Obsession - Radical Islam’s War against the West — was produced almost three years ago. It intersperses scenes of violence, including the September 11, 2001, attack on New York, with footage from Nazi rallies. The film found no traditional distributor and was first screened on college campuses last year, introduced by a right-wing activist, David Horowitz.
So why is the DVD mailed out now? Purely for educational purposes, according to a spokesman for the Clarion Fund. Nothing to do with fear-mongering.
The DVD’s sleeve, however, carries a slightly different message. “The threat of radical Islam is the most important issue facing us today. But it’s a topic that neither the presidential candidates nor the media are discussing openly. It’s our responsibility to ensure we can all make an informed vote in November.”
(You can contact the author at Debusmann@Reuters.com)
Am I the only one who can mentally replace the word 'Muslims' in the first three paragraphs with the word 'Jews' and see that we've got 1930's Germany happening here in 'Good ol America'??? Powell is probably the only person associated with the Bush Administration who is worthy of respect -- Listen up!
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I assume you would extend the same to evangelical Christians who think they might like to be President.
Did you somehow forget about all the atrocities under Christianity’s belt? Did you forget about the Crusades? All nine of them? What about all the times European nations have occupied the Arabian Caliphate?
If you really think about it, the western world has given the Islamic world plenty of reasons to feel xenophobic towards us. Our ancestors have committed atrocities ten times the scale of 9/11. Anything from Burning Acre, Pillaging Damascus, and colonizing them has created vicarious hatred that has been passed down from generation to generation.
They just want us to leave, but our foreign policy has been dictated by our continued reliance on their vast oil reservoirs. This is a fundamental issue that has been building since the early industrial era.
I dont blame them for calling us the “Great Satan”, because just from reading the history of the region I have become very sympathetic to their cause.
Is Islam a threat? Have you forgotten 9/11? An attack on the world’s super power.
Frankly, it is good thing to have a fear of Muslims. It only takes a quick look at the world’s newspapers, websites and television too see firsthand the scourge of Islam. The invasion of the west in particular is glaring. A world Caliphate is the mission of Muslims. So simple, no? Just read the Koran to learn more. Here is but a sample: Qur’an 3:32: “Obey Allah and His Messenger. If they [non-Muslims] refuse [to obey Allah], remember Allah does not like unbelieving infidels.”
Well Muslim Christian it doesn’t matter. As long as he has a good since of hummer.
Anybody can lead America better than Bush. Nicolas Sarkozy even Mahmud Ahmedinajad forget them Sadam Hussen can do better than Bush. So it doesn’t matter as long as it is not Bush!
John, Christianity falsely claims to be a religion of peace as well. ( Numbers 31, Deuteronomy, Chapter 17:2-3,5, for example )
“As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?”
– John Adams, letter to FA Van der Kamp, December 27, 1816
Stop blaming your or their religion for your or their actions! You decided to do it on your own. Not everyone who shares your religion shares your decision to do wrong things and use your religious beliefs as a scapegoat. ( You = any wrongdoer, Your Religion = Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Pagansism, *ism)
Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it historically true that Thomas Jefferson’s ownership of a Koran was owing to his need to understand the motives of the treacherous pirates of the Barbary Coast with whom America found itself in limited war due to their savaging of our trade ships and crews?
And on that DVD “Obsession”, is there an inaccuracy in it’s content? It chronicles Islamic radical words and deeds, and depressingly it’s true that a very significant proportion of Islamics harbor such views. Real world proof is in the fact that of the roughly hundred small and larger wars occurring world-wide today, 97 or 98% are related to Islamics.
Bill of Rights, Article IV (dissolved by the Patriot Act):
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Bill of Rights, Article I:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The more we capitulate to the politics of fear, the closer we come to seeing this amendment dissolved as well. Religion has long been used as a vehicle for convincing others to do ones evil deeds. Success comes in eradicating the extremists, not blacklisting the entire religion.
“Those who give up essential liberties for temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” - Benjamin Franklin
I agree with Mr. Devon, Religion should be used / adhered to as long it allows individual to live happily and with peace with himself and others. Once the religion/or the religious leaders start preaching hatred towards others and ask them to change one\’s religion to be happy and attain peace. It has to be stopped and rejected.
The greatest threat to humanity is secularism. WW1, WW2 Vietnam war, Korean War, Cold war, Gulf war, Afghanistan, Iraq all the wars and atrocities were a result of secularist ideologies not limited to communism, socialism, capitalism motivations. I really hope we take time out to educate ourselfs as Americans are drink less alcohol.
What disturbs me about Muslims is not just the use of murder by some, but the indifference of the use of murder by so many.
Your education is indeed lacking. Where did you learn about Islam, Fox News??
Islam does not give a rational to kill infidels and nor do muslims consider people of the West, the “great satan.” There are a few groups that kill innocent people including muslims and claim it is a religious right but i assure you they are not real muslims nor representative of Islam but do to their actions unfortunatley they get the most airtime.
Its teachings do not inspire violence and before you try to spread such uneducated, ignorant comments perhaps you should pick up a copy of the Quran and read for yourself rather than hearsay.
God created man and woman.He made them in his image.Man made everything else.Lets remember that .All over the world Fascists work up the differances to suit their dirty work.Love and only love covers all faults.Lets bring back what we in this part of the world call INSANYAT.It means humanity,and all differences vanish.
nobody needs to disccus these subjects,if you have brain you can easily find what is the religion that you have to follow , even if you dont beleive in any religion thats also a religion ,because religion is a way of life and way of thinking and beleiving.just read about Islam’s roots and read its books like Quran and you will understand what Islam is.just read and you will understand.
Re.: Mr John Hallowell’s comment….
To quote his last sentence: “We might well be digging our grave”… and adding to it: through our own ignorance and intolerance.
Mr Hallowell in his reference to bombings in the UK, he seems to forget “The Troubles” when good, church-going, christian, white Irishmen [members of the NRA] were setting off bombs in Ireland and in Britain.
Well…. now that we have the latest letter bomber mailing powder to banks and the FDIC these mentally constipated hate ignoranmouses will realize that Kompashionate Kristian Konservatives are also terrorists.
As a reminder…. Oklahoma City’s bombing was performed by white - Christian - church goers…. not Muslims.
The FBI’s message on the subject is at
What is very sad as well as disgusting about today’s political campaign is that some political operatives are using anti-Muslim innuendo to further their chosen candidates along with a lack of candor by their candidates to discourage their followers from promoting these tactics.
We Americans do not fear Muslims. We know that 95% of Muslims are good people. We believe that someone’s past history is good indicator of their future intentions. To understand radical Islam’s current state you have to look at their history:
In September 1970 three jet aircraft bound for New York City were hijacked by radical Muslims extremists and later blown up at a remote airstrip in Jordan.
September 1972, radical Muslim extremists take 11 Israeli athletes hostage during the Munich Olympics. All 11 Israelis and a German policeman are killed.
In November of 1979,radical Muslim extremists seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, holding 53 American hostages for 444 days.
Less than four years later, 63 people died when the U.S. Embassy in Beirut is bombed by radical Muslim extremists.
Scant months later, 242 Americans and 58 French are killed by radical Muslim extremists in simultaneous suicide bombers in the American and French compounds in Beirut.
March 1984, radical Muslim extremists kidnap and murder CIA Political Officer William Buckley in Lebanon.
One year later, radical Muslim extremists seized the Italian cruise liner the Achille Lauro. Dozens of Americans are taken hostage and one American is murdered.
In June of 1985, radical Muslim extremists hijacked a TWA flight forcing the plane to fly to Beirut. Eight crew members and 145 passengers are held hostage for 17 days, during which time a U.S.sailor is murdered.
December 1985 radical Muslim extremists make simultaneous attacks on the international airports in Rome and Vienna. 18 people are killed.
April 1986, two U.S. soldiers are killed and 79 are injured when radical Muslim extremists detonated bombs in a West Berlin discotheque.
Two years later,radical Muslim extremists again take American lives when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. All of the 259 people on board are killed.
On February 26, 1993, for the first time,radical Muslims extremists strike on American soil when a car bomb explodes in the garage of the World Trade Center, killing six and injuring 1,000.
In 1995, a car bomb exploded at a U.S. military complex in Riyadh Saudi Arabia by radical Muslim extremists. One U.S. citizen is killed.
Seven months later a truck bomb detonated outside the Khobar Towers in Dhahram, Saudi Arabia by radical Muslim extremists. Nineteen Airmen are killed and 515 people are
wounded.
In August of 1998, the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania fall victim to coordinated attacks by radical Muslims extremists. Over 300 are killed.
Two years latter,radical Muslim extremists ram a small watercraft laden with explosives into the U.S.S. Cole, killing 17 U.S. sailors.
Finally, September 11, 2001,radical Muslim extremists hijack two airliners that hit the World Trade Center towers. Another plane crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth plane, headed for either the White House or U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., crashed in a Pennsylvania cornfield. All told,3,025 perish.
Over 90% of civilians killed in the Iraq war have been killed by Muslim insurgents and militias,NOT AMERICAN TROOPS.
“Islam gives a rationale to those who want to kill infidels…”
No, US foreign policy has given people around the world that rationale, which is not about killing infidels, it’s about being treated immorality by a bullying superpower. Besides, rehashing the old “Islam promotes killing” is like saying Christianity promotes an eye for an eye. It does, but only to fundamentalists desperate for some sense of meaning and thus willing to take the Old Testament as a rule book.
“and millions of Muslims consider us the “Great Satan.”
And so do all those religious kooks that make up the heart of the good ol’ US. So what? This Muslim myth as Other is such cr*p. The religions have far more in common than you think.
In a societal gumbo pot like the USA, it is easy to blend into the national fabric. When WWII happened, the first generation japanese decent people in the US were rounded up in NY, NY and held in efforts to minimize damage from within the states. Shortly afterwards, they were harmlessly released after the temporary detainment. We are a country that is about to implode from within and fall under our own weight. There has to be a little tolerance allowed to enable our national security to be “National” to the interior of the USA. Colen Powell is an experienced in the “International” arena…maybe he’s been gone too long from the US soil to remember how to catch the bad guys here at home. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with muslims acknowledging their existence and who they are…unless they have something to hide. I belong to a christian church, and my name is on the membership books. I have no problem with that being public information, you can see me there on any given Sunday.
This is not religion which makes people think otherwise against each other. It is social policies, agenda and gains of set of people / countries / nations who colour pictures in abstract manner which is misleading. All religions including Islam have broader guidelines which simply define the basics and distinguish good from evil. However a person either born within certain sect or converted has an obligation to understand the difference. In short said set of people are misleading larger numbers, due to lake of knowledge, for their own gains.