Obama and the M-Word

Barack Obama is afraid. He's afraid that the American people might think he's a Muslim.

So, Obama is on a mission to distance himself from the appearance of having any significant personal Muslim connections.

WASHINGTON -- For Barack Obama, it is an ember that he has doused time and again, only to see it flicker anew: links to Islam fanned by false rumors, innuendo and association. Obama and his campaign reacted strongly this week when a photo of him in Kenyan tribal garb began spreading on the Internet.

And the praise he received Sunday from Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan prompted pointed questions — during Tuesday night's presidential debate and also in a private meeting over the weekend with Jewish leaders in Cleveland.

During the debate, Obama repeated his denunciation of Farrakhan's views, which have included numerous anti-Semitic comments. And, after being pressed, he rejected Farrakhan's support in the presidential race.

The Democratic candidate says repeatedly that he's a Christian who took the oath of office on a family Bible. Yet on the Internet and on talk radio — and in a campaign introduction for John McCain this week — he is often depicted, falsely, as a Muslim with shadowy ties and his middle name, Hussein, is emphasized as a reminder of Iraq's former leader.

"If anyone is still puzzled about the facts, in fact I have never been a Muslim," he told the Jewish leaders in Cleveland, according to a transcript of the private session.

...Obama has become careful in denouncing the links, lately noting that some rumors about him also have been insulting to Muslims. Jim Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute, said many Arab Americans are drawn to Obama because of his cultural background.

"It is clear he wants to have a broader relationship with the Muslim world," Zogby said. "He has a biography that connects him to the Muslim world."

Jim Kuhnhenn of the Associated Press does his best to dispel those awful "links to Islam fanned by false rumors, innuendo and association."

He provides a list of some "rumors and allegations about Obama [that] are clearly not true, yet still spread, often anonymously."

Ooooooh. Islam. Scary.

How embarrassing!

I think it's disrespectful for Obama to downplay the reality of his Muslim ancestors.

Here we have this African-American candidate making history, a giant leap for the country, breaking down barriers.

On the flip side, we have that same candidate and his supporters acting like there's something wrong with being a Muslim.

I can understand why Obama would want people to know the truth about him. He's a Christian, not a Muslim. OK. Lies are lies.

Still, there's something troubling about the way he and his campaign have equated connections to Islam as something so negative and derogatory.

Uttering his middle name is a slur. Apologies are required if one strings Hussein between Barack and Obama. That makes no sense to me. Why is it OK to say his first and last names? Why aren't they also unmentionable. They aren't exactly white-bread names.

Underlying all of this is a weird bigotry, not only on the part of those disseminating the Obama/Islam rumors but also on the part of Obama's camp.

I don't think it's wise for the campaign to consider connections to Islam to be a terrible affront. That in itself smacks of bigotry.

Furthermore, the assumption by the Obama campaign is that Americans are bigots. Apparently, they've determined that Americans wouldn't vote for a Muslim or someone they perceive to have connections with Islam.

Why?

I thought Obama believed in the American people. I thought the country, meaning the people, made wife Michelle Obama proud for the first time in her adult life. Something doesn't add up here.

It's unfortunate that Obama rejects his Muslim heritage, sending out aides to put as much distance as possible between himself and anything related to Islam.

Why?

Another candidate was dogged by an M-word -- Mitt Romney.

The mainstream press were constantly bringing up his Mormonism, chanting the mantra that Americans won't vote for a Mormon, and all the while promoting Mormonism as a dark cult. They were on a mission to keep Romney on defense. Members of the press and political pundits actively attacked the religion.

For example, Lawrence O'Donnell went completely berserk and mercilessly bashed Romney and disparaged all Mormons.

Where was the outrage then?

The Associated Press certainly didn't come to Romney's aid. I didn't hear any presidential candidates condemn O'Donnell's shameful remarks the way John Sidney McCain condemned what Bill Cunningham had to say -- Obama's middle name.

In spite of the thoroughly despicable slams on Mormonism, by the press and by at least one Republican candidate, Romney's campaign made no orchestrated effort to muzzle anyone. Romney didn't back away from his faith. Instead, he displayed great character, integrity, and patience.

It's a totally different story with Obama.

Only Obama can make reference to his Muslim roots when it's convenient and politically expedient. If anyone else does, it's hateful and fear-mongering.

That's very, very wrong.