MMESOMA HAYA MANENO YA COLLI POWEEll??
SALLY QUINN
Washington Post reporter
Washington Post journalist, author and Washington DC insider, Sally Quinn founded and co-moderates On Faith, a blog from the Washington Post and Newsweek. Co-moderated by Newsweek editor and bestselling author Jon Meacham and hosted by a panel of renowned religious scholars of all denominations, On Faith is the first worldwide, interactive discussion about religion and its impact on global life. more »
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Powell's Words a Lesson for McCain
It is my belief that John McCain disqualified himself from being an effective leader of this country about a year ago when he was asked if he would vote for a Muslim candidate for president.
McCain's reply: "I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles, personally, I prefer someone who has a grounding in my faith." McCain recanted a few days later, saying "I would vote for a Muslim if he or she was the candidate best able to lead the country and defend our political values."
It was good that he backed off the comment, but we need more from a man who wants to be president of the United States and leader of the free world. What we need to hear John McCain say is what we heard Colin Powell say Sunday on Meet the Press: "Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?' The answer is 'No. That's not America."
It shouldn't be. There are 1.3 billion Muslims in the world. Most of them are our friends and some our allies. Only a tiny minority wish us ill. Our next President faces enormous problems throughout the world. How can we have a leader who would alienate the very people he must deal with to solve those problems?
Think of the Muslims in Northern Africa, the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, the Caucuses, Indonesia. What are they to think about a President who not only puts them down but allows and condones a distinctly anti-Muslim tone to infiltrate his campaign?
But he has.
McCain rarely lets an opportunity go by without referring to "radical Islamic terrorism" as our greatest threat. McCain referred to megachurch pastor Rod Parsley, who calls Islam a 'false' religion that should be destroyed, as his "spiritual adviser". He rejected Parsley's support only after the pastor's views became widely known.
McCain has been silent when his opponent is introduced at rallies as Barack "Hussein" Obama, a not so subtle attempt to promote the lie that Obama is Muslim. At a recent McCain rally a woman said she didn't trust Obama because he was an "Arab." "No," McCain demurred. "He's not. He's a decent family man."
What? You can't be both?
McCain's rhetoric has influenced others in his party. Two weeks ago, Virginia Republican Party Chairman Jeffrey M. Frederick compared Obama with Osama Bin Ladin. "Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon," said Frederick. "That is scary." Frederick later said he was joking. McCain rebuked the comments.
At a recent meal with Muslim American friends I encountered despair and outrage. Some were Republicans who said they could not vote for McCain. They felt disenfranchised by him. One said his Democratic friends were afraid to openly campaign or support Obama for fear of hurting him. Obama, they say, is in an untenable position. He is a Christian and yet denying being a Muslim implies that there is something wrong with being a Muslim.
One of my Muslim friends said, "I have two young children. I don't want them to grow up in a country where Muslims are looked upon with suspicion.
Fifty percent of Americans either view Muslims as terrorists or with suspicion. Colin Powell addressed those suspicions admirably Sunday. Powell said he was troubled that some Republicans had been spreading rumors that Obama is a Muslim.
"Well, the correct answer is that he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian," Powell said.
"Obama has always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no., that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven year old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be President? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, 'He's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists.' This is not the way we should be doing it in America."
How many Americans understand that there are pluralists and extremists in every religion? How many know that Muslims revere Jesus as a great prophet and when they say his name they say "Peace be upon him"? How many Americans know that in the Quran it says, "God made us different nations and tribes that we may come to know one another"?
John McCain could tell them if he really wanted to. If he doesn't, what are the 1.3 billion Muslims in the world going to think of a country which could elect a man who seems so disrespectful of their religion?
Sally Quinn: Powell's Words a Lesson for McCain - On Faith at washingtonpost.com