Am I a Problem in America?
Published in Al-Watan
(Oman) on 25 September 2015
by Muhammad al-Dami (link to original)
If your name was among the variety of unmistakable, traditional Muslim names such as Muhammad, Ali, Hussein, Amr, Osman, etc., you can’t help but feel the wave of fear and hatred for Muslims summoned by this, with that fear or hatred triggering the habitual Islamophobia, as has happened before in a sequential manner following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 in Washington, D.C. and New York. These types of highly oppressive waves of Islamophobia remain dormant for months or sometimes years, especially after the official government authorities rein it in, but are triggered suddenly from hidden sources behind the scenes, and no one can ever consolidate them.
However, the timing of these waves of Islamophobia — the fear of Islam or Muslims — often coincides with important political events that captivate the hidden anti-Islamic views mentioned above. These views employ events to discredit Islam and Muslims in a manner that makes one feel that [the people] want the “new world” to be a world free of any trace of this religion.
This same type of wave was triggered a few days ago by a man named Bill, when he addressed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump with the following: “We have a problem in this country. It’s called Muslims. You know our current president is one.” The speaker added, “They want to kill us.” Trump did not have to answer in favor of or against what this person said; it was enough to smile insincerely, as though he were agreeing with it, in order to gain approval. However, the wave of hate was triggered, and the attendee who asked the malicious question suddenly disappeared after detonating his sectarian bomb, without a trace or a full name. Thus the hidden views behind this incident simulated the intent to provoke the hatred of Islamophobia from its relatively long slumber, since a pastor tried to burn copies of the Holy Quran several months ago.*
Then, after only a few days, Republican candidate Ben Carson — who according to polls is currently ranked second among the top candidates and is also black — called, in general, for nothing less than hostility and hatred toward Muslims, unfortunately, judging by the aggressive sympathizing [he did] when Trump was silent. Ben Carson said in an interview on one of the satellite television channels that in its nature, Islam is contrary to the American Constitution, so it’s therefore not possible for a Muslim to infiltrate the White House.
The ultimate significance of this irresponsible generalization is that this black candidate is hereby undertaking a violation of the American Constitution, built first and foremost on the principle of a secular state, the obvious guideline of which does not discriminate between citizens on the basis of religion, belief, sex or skin color. This is what the American Constitution forbids: It states verbatim that any “natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States … shall be eligible to the office of president,” regardless of any [other] considerations.
Regardless of whether this slander involves President Obama’s ineligibility in the context of the next election, Muslims in the United States continue to be treated like African-Americans, or any black American, really: They have all the rights written for them in the Constitution and all the laws from an official standpoint, but they are trapped in a stranglehold that squeezes them from time to time, especially after a succession of blacks established what has been termed “black Islam,” a provocative euphemism for their conversion to it. The mere mention of the word Islam sends a shiver through the bodies of many Americans, a shiver whose strength and underlying hostile emotions are rooted in what the al-Qaida terrorists did in Washington and New York on Sept. 11. For that I don’t have to announce: “This is what bin Laden inflicted on me, and I never committed anything against anyone!”
*Editor's note: Terry Jones, the pastor from Florida who incited world attention for his anti-Islam ideas and behaviors, has either burned or organized to burn copies of the Quran on several occasions starting in 2010, but the latest such incident was over a year ago, not several months ago, as the author of this article writes.
However, the timing of these waves of Islamophobia — the fear of Islam or Muslims — often coincides with important political events that captivate the hidden anti-Islamic views mentioned above. These views employ events to discredit Islam and Muslims in a manner that makes one feel that [the people] want the “new world” to be a world free of any trace of this religion.
This same type of wave was triggered a few days ago by a man named Bill, when he addressed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump with the following: “We have a problem in this country. It’s called Muslims. You know our current president is one.” The speaker added, “They want to kill us.” Trump did not have to answer in favor of or against what this person said; it was enough to smile insincerely, as though he were agreeing with it, in order to gain approval. However, the wave of hate was triggered, and the attendee who asked the malicious question suddenly disappeared after detonating his sectarian bomb, without a trace or a full name. Thus the hidden views behind this incident simulated the intent to provoke the hatred of Islamophobia from its relatively long slumber, since a pastor tried to burn copies of the Holy Quran several months ago.*
Then, after only a few days, Republican candidate Ben Carson — who according to polls is currently ranked second among the top candidates and is also black — called, in general, for nothing less than hostility and hatred toward Muslims, unfortunately, judging by the aggressive sympathizing [he did] when Trump was silent. Ben Carson said in an interview on one of the satellite television channels that in its nature, Islam is contrary to the American Constitution, so it’s therefore not possible for a Muslim to infiltrate the White House.
The ultimate significance of this irresponsible generalization is that this black candidate is hereby undertaking a violation of the American Constitution, built first and foremost on the principle of a secular state, the obvious guideline of which does not discriminate between citizens on the basis of religion, belief, sex or skin color. This is what the American Constitution forbids: It states verbatim that any “natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States … shall be eligible to the office of president,” regardless of any [other] considerations.
Regardless of whether this slander involves President Obama’s ineligibility in the context of the next election, Muslims in the United States continue to be treated like African-Americans, or any black American, really: They have all the rights written for them in the Constitution and all the laws from an official standpoint, but they are trapped in a stranglehold that squeezes them from time to time, especially after a succession of blacks established what has been termed “black Islam,” a provocative euphemism for their conversion to it. The mere mention of the word Islam sends a shiver through the bodies of many Americans, a shiver whose strength and underlying hostile emotions are rooted in what the al-Qaida terrorists did in Washington and New York on Sept. 11. For that I don’t have to announce: “This is what bin Laden inflicted on me, and I never committed anything against anyone!”
*Editor's note: Terry Jones, the pastor from Florida who incited world attention for his anti-Islam ideas and behaviors, has either burned or organized to burn copies of the Quran on several occasions starting in 2010, but the latest such incident was over a year ago, not several months ago, as the author of this article writes.
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