US Muslims are facing tough times, fearful about growing suspicions of Islam amid false rumors that Democratic nominee Barack Obama is a Muslim and could have links to terrorists.
The Illinois senator is Christian but he spent his childhood in Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim nation.
“Not since the election of John Kennedy [a Catholic] in 1960 has the religious faith of a US presidential candidate generated so much distortion as the false claims generated by extremist critics that Obama, the candidate of the Democratic Party, is a stealth Muslim,” said a joint petition by some 100 Islamic scholars.
“This is part of an islamophobic hate campaign that fuels prejudice against Americans who practice their Islamic faith and Muslims worldwide,” the group who themselves “concerned scholars” said.
Last month, a controversial DVD on Islam was circulated in Florida, adding fuel to the fire of the US election campaign.
The video, titled Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West and released more than a year ago by a group called Clarion Fund, showed images of young children reciting appeals for jihad mixed with archival footage of the Hitler Youth.
Already stigmatized in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Muslim community of the US feels it has been ostracized during the current election campaign.
“The problem is there has been so many smears against Islam and Muslims that the candidates are very reluctant now to engage with Muslims for fear of coming under attack by their opponents,” said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based civil rights advocacy group. “That’s a very disturbing situation.”
In June, Obama presented his apologies to two women wearing Islamic scarves who wanted to have their picture taken with the Democratic candidate but were hussled away by party activists.
A survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released on Oct. 19 showed that when asked about Obama’s religious beliefs, a small but consistent minority of voters, 12 percent, continue to say that the Democratic nominee is a Muslim.
This percentage has changed little since last month, when 13 percent said that about Obama.
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