Not All American Dreams are Created Equal

This article about Muslim American's involvement in the 2008 election was the top story for a good portion of today on CNN.com. The article addresses a question that has arisen several times already on this blog: so what if Obama were Muslim? Since that question has been asked, speculated, and answered, that is not the focus of my post. I think this article provides two other interesting and stimulating commentaries. 

The first one comes from a Muslim American, Fatema Blvjla, who became involved in this election after receiving a GOP mailer connecting Obama to Islam negatively. I personally cannot imagine receiving something in my own mailbox that cut down a presidential candidate on the basis of something that is fundamental to me. 

Secondly, I think the summaries of Colin Powell's quotations about Obama's connection to Muslims are worth looking at. Powell states, "What if he is? is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? No that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim kid believing that he or she can be president?" I think this brings up a very interesting point concerning the future of Muslims in America. Should the dreams of a little boy who believes in Allah have to be different than the dreams of a Jewish girl or a Baptist boy? They obviously shouldn't, but I am just not sure how much they can be the same. 

At this point I'd like to introduce a youtube video from a Palin rally in Ohio earlier this month. In this video, Palin supports are asked about Obama and why they do not support him. In the first commentary a woman exclaims that, "he is just not a Christian!! This is Christian Nation!!" Several people go on to say that he is a Muslim, that he is a terrorist. One woman's response particularly linked that connection: "Just the whole Muslim thing, I dunno, a lot of people might have forgotten 9/11, but I haven't." 

This country runs on certain facets of the American Dream and I think Powell's hypothetical 7-year-old boy, as well as all the real Muslim children in America, are stuck between two very conflicting ones. As the CNN article points out, America is a melting pot and there is no one face of America. Anyone can succeed with hard work. On the other hand, there is this deeply embedded myth that the religious Christian foundation of this nation are what gives validity to the opportunities in America. Jerry Farwell's reliance on early American history is a perfect testament to this argument. He once wrote," God has blessed this nation because in its early days she sought to honor God and the Bible, the inerrant World of the living God. Any diligent student of American history finds that our great nation was founded by godly men upon godly principles to be a Christian nation." 

Maybe in a few more generations Muslims will overcome intolerance towards them as the Catholics did in the 19th and 20th centuries. The harsh reality of today's views towards Muslims are exemplified in the you tube video and they create a rough situation for today's Muslim youth: their means to the American Dream must go way beyond their own hard work; it will take much more to overcome that religious ignorance in this country.