I am increasingly uncomfortable with the dialogue around Barack Obama’s religion.
His opponents spread rumors that he’s a Muslim and – as we should – we supporters point out that this is a lie. But what if he were a Muslim? Does that automatically disqualify someone from holding office in America? Have we completely abandoned any notion of church /state separation and made it official you have to be a Christian to hold office?
I know part of the problem here is that many faithful Muslims are being tarred with the brush of extremism because a few of their coreligionists have done horrific things. But tell me what religion’s extremists haven’t? Certainly not Christianity (Crusades anyone? Inquisition? Holocaust?). Not Hindus (ask Muslims in the Indian state of Gujarat, where thousands have been massacred over the past few years). Not Jews (when I was in Jerusalem four years ago, the big uproar was about an ultraorthodox Jewish student who had spit in the face of a Christian archbishop as a sign of contempt for the cross). Every religion has an ugly side and an ugly history, (and an ugly present, in most cases). Islam is no different in that respect from Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, or other faiths.
Barack’s not a Muslim, but the fact that he isn’t should be irrelevant. What a sad state of affairs we have sunk to that it is.