Global Intifada

Alhumdulillah, it looks like Senator Obama personally contacted the two sisters who had been prevented from sitting behind him by campaign volunteers during an election rally in Michigan and apologized to them. He also issued the following statement earlier today:

“I reached out to Ms. Aref and Ms. Abdelfadeel this afternoon. I spoke with Ms. Abdelfadeel, and expressed my deepest apologies for the incident that occurred with volunteers at the event in Detroit. The actions of these volunteers were unacceptable and in no way reflect any policy of my campaign. I take deepest offense to and will continue to fight against discrimination against people of any religious group or background. Our campaign is about bringing people together, and I’m grateful that Ms. Abdelfadeel accepted our apology and I hope Ms. Aref and any who were offended accept my apology as well.” (Source)

Nonetheless, I’d hope in the future that there are more photo ops and video footage with Muslims in it. Moreover, while I think this is a good first step, the underlying problem of Islamophobia still hasn’t been addressed, but hopefully he’ll get to it when he’s president.

People have pointed out that Obama isn’t an Islamophobe because he grew up with Muslims or he’s not against hijab. Such childish arguments reveal their elitist nature: kiss the ass of the man for now and we’ll get a pat on the head later. This mentality is inexcusable and was used in the past to justify colonialism and is currently being used to justify an inequitable global hegemonic order. Moreover, even if Obama rocked a turban and took some pictures with a crowd of people that had one or two hijabis, it is still irrelevant. No one has ever accused Obama of being an Islamophobe. However, the issue is that there is Islamophobia in America and it is an particular touchy issue in this election because people are using the fear of Islam as a political tool. Islamophobia came up with McCain’s pastors stating that the US was created to “war” on Islam. It came up repeatedly with the smear tactics to affiliate Obama with Islam over and over and over and over again. Islamophobia has created such a climate of fear in America, that one of the most progressive candidates in modern times has spent more time distancing himself from Islam and Muslims than attacking the demonization that produces it in the first place. My problem is that Obama has repeatedly proven to respond weakly in condemning the insinuation that there is something wrong with being Muslim and instead has devoted most of his energies in rebutting accusations that he IS a Muslim. If one gives it the proper context, then the issue is not ‘minor’ and is not just an ‘isolated incident’ but establishes a broader pattern of behavior.

Ultimately, what this incident reveals is that Obama is submitting to the pressures of the Islamophobes by distancing himself from Muslims. Unlike the Reverend Wright controversy which resulted in Obama giving a lengthy speech in Philadelphia about race relations in America, this time, Obama discreetly tip-toed around the issue and privately called the two women and apologized. Had this been based on race or another religion (such as Judaism), there would’ve been no qualms about the bigoted nature of the actions of the volunteers and no one would insinuate that the Muslim community is over-reacting. These reactions reveal just how deep bigotry and fear of Islam goes. If Obama is going to take a strong stand about bigotry on race but not on demonizing Muslims, then this shows disparate treatment of Islam and should be just as unequivocally condemned as a double standard.

Islamophobia is not only an issue in this election due to the smear tactics and outrageous antics of certain individuals, but it is an American issue period. The same people who propagate Islamophobia do so for a reason: they seek to utilize the fear of Islam to incite fear among the masses to justify a domestic policy to deny Muslims their civil rights or to support an aggressive foreign policy in the Muslim world. Islamophobia thus becomes a global problem. It leads to human rights violations, loss of life, and the deprivation of civil rights. It was Islamophobia that enabled the Bush administration’s weak argument regarding Saddam Hussein being connected to 9/11 so easy to swallow by the American public. It was Islamophobia that leads American politicians making statements indicating that they don’t want to see a Muslim president, or that we should bomb Mecca if there was a terrorist nuclear attack.

If successful, integrated American Muslims can’t get positive coverage in an election campaign that defines itself by tolerance, diversity, and change, then where can they? Why are so many of our elitist Muslim brethren concerned about standing up for their own rights? What “greater good” is being served by not saying that we, as a community, will not tolerate being demonized any more? A victory for Obama isn’t a victory for the Muslim community if there isn’t a change in the underlying manner in which Islam is treated. If Obama wins by not contesting the large segment of American society that has irrational hostile views towards Islam, then this isn’t a victory for the American Muslim community - its a loss.

Again, to be clear, I am not calling for Muslims to disavow Obama, I’m telling them to support him because he’s still the strongest candidate. However, they should also put pressure on him and others similarly situated to make it clear that the demonization of Muslims from anyone is not going to be tolerated. Instead of being paralyzed by fear or acquiescing to the elitist structure of American politics, its time to make waves.

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