Polls continue to show that a substantial number of Americans (anywhere from 7 to 15% depending on the poll) believe Barack Obama is a "Muslim." Pollsters and others have reported that even when respondents are told Obama is a Christian and not a Muslim, many continue to insist he is a Muslim. The caregiver who helps my parents believes he is a Muslim and she is a 65 year old white woman from France.
We humans are a curious species. We tend to believe what we want to believe. Hillary supporters believe what they want to believe about their candidate, and Obama supporters believe what they want to believe. McCain supporters likewise. But belief and fact are two different things. With religion, for instance, since there is no way for anyone to know with absolute certainly that there is a God, or that the vision one has of God is an accurate reflection of God, if there is a God, then humans must rely on faith, belief. But if an apple is put in front of you, and it fits every description of an apple, and it has been picked from an apple tree, then you can't continue to say it is a pear no matter how hungry you are for a pear, or how much you wish it were a pear, or how much Republicans try to tell you its a pear.
So how is it that so many Americans, in the face of monumental evidence to the contrary (Obama's 20 year membership in a Christian Church, the baptism of his two daughters, the way he speaks about his faith, the witness of fellow church members, etc.) continue to believe Barack Obama is a Muslim? I have compiled a list of possibilities.
1. The people who believe Obama is a Muslim have been subjected to propaganda and innuendo by the right wing smear machine that wants to destroy Obama as a candidate.
They are told he had a Muslim father and went to a Madrassa when he was a child. These are distortions of the truth. Obama's father was from Kenya, and while raised a Muslim, was an atheist by the time he met Obama's mother. He left the family when Obama was two years old and had no real influence on Obama's upbringing or faith. Obama's mother then married an Indonesian man who had also been a Muslim, but was a non-practicing one. While in Indonesia, Obama went to a public school for two years, which had Muslim students and teachers but which also had students of other faiths, and to a Catholic school for two years. Obama's mother was an atheist herself and not willing to expose her son to radical religious beliefs, which she would have rejected.
Propagandists who insist Obama is a Muslim also spread the rumor that he won't say the pledge of allegience and he took his Senate oath of office on a Koran. Both of these are false. The first is based on a picture of Obama and some of his fellow candidates standing for the national anthem. He does not have his hand over his heart, as many people do not have their hands over their hearts during the playing of the National Anthem, such as when they attend a sporting event. (This was NOT the recitation of the Pledge of Allegience when Obama, like all good Americans, does put his hand over his heart.) The second rumor is the result of the conflation of another black American, Keith Ellison, with Obama. Ellison is a new congressman from Minnesota who did take the oath of office on the Koran and caused a stir among right wing circles. Obama, who is a Christian, took the oath of office on the Bible.
2. The people who believe Obama is a Muslim don't understand what a Muslim is.
They typically confuse being of Arab or African ancestry with being a Muslim and think they are interchangeable. They have never heard of Arab Christians, or African Christians, or even Arab or African atheists. Obama has dark skin and an African father, so he must be Muslim. This is somewhat understandable as most Americans had absolutely no idea what Islam was, or who Muslims were prior to 9/11. So the easiest thing to believe is that Islam is an evil religion (nationality) and Muslims are evil people and anyone with an Arab or African name and dark skin must be a Muslim.
3. The people who believe Obama is a Muslim are afraid and their fears are easily exploited.
People who are fearful will believe all kinds of things. Many people adopt or maintain religious beliefs, after all, because they are afraid of death, or what comes after death, or the devil, or God, or people who might hurt them. Prayer becomes a sort of protection against harm. When the horrors of 9/11 occurred and the American people became frightened of people who were called Muslims (who all had dark skin) there was no effort made to understand anything about this religion practiced by one fourth of the world's people, nor to distinguish the religion from the many nationalities that practiced it. To be Muslim meant to be evil, suspicious, un-American.
4. Some of the people who believe Obama is a Muslim are racist.
Unfortunately, too many of those who choose to believe that Obama is a Muslim - not only a Muslim, but one who means to do harm to the United States - believe it because it gives them a reason to be opposed to the candidacy of a black man. It is no longer politically correct, nor morally acceptable for citizens of this country to be overtly racist, yet many remain covertly racist. Those who would never vote for Obama because he is black, or who harbor irrational fears of what it would mean to the white race should a black man finally become president, are looking for any excuse to indulge their prejudices without being seen as "racist." Believing Obama is a Muslim, especially after 9/11 when Muslims became the enemy to many uneducated Americans, gives these voters an excuse to vote against the black man.
It will be an uphill battle for Obama to allay people's fears and correct the misinformation people have. It will take countelss speeches and getting to know as many people as possible. It will take a lot of help from his supporters in their discussions with their fellow citizens. That will help to take care of the education and fear part. But nothing will help overcome the racism, or the propaganda spewed by Republican operatives, except a victory in November.
If Obama is elected, and the people come to see him as a good and decent man, a patriot, and a competent leader, we might just make a dent in the racism that still infects far too large a segment of the population.
