By all accounts, Obama finds anti-Muslim bigotry offensive. Yet, his behavior during the current presidential campaign leaves a bad taste in the mouth of Muslims and in the mouths of us who believe that openness to the religious others is what America must mean.
How is it that a holiday and fasting month that inspires Muslims to do good things provokes a volatile reaction in a country that prides itself on religious freedom?
After a recent statement by Ayman al-Zawahiri on the role of women in Al-Qaeda, that supports single-dimensional notions of extremist Muslims, extremist women talk back…
While much of the media had no trouble detailing the religious commitment of the Muslim killer of an army recruiter, most profiles painted Scott Roeder as a right-wing, anti-government, anti-abortionist, with a prior arrest history and mental problems. His connection with extremist Christian groups, apparently, is irrelevant.
Obama’s speech marks a radical departure from the prophetically-laden, right-wing rhetoric that cast America and Israel together waiting for Armageddon at the hands of Arab countries. In fact, what if the speech were intended to deconstruct the simplistic mistrust of American Christianity towards Islam?
