The Sandspur

Issue date: 3/21/08 Section: Opinions

Barack Obama can't seem to escape the continuous accusations and allegations cooked up against him. First he wasn't "black enough," then he was too inexperienced. Someone started a vicious rumor that he was of the Muslim faith and somehow, by extension, of evil intentions (part of a plot by Al Queda to take over the US from the inside, the rumor claimed)… even though he was an active member of the Chicago United Church of Christ for over 20 years before recently leaving the congregation.

Now his very name - his middle name of Hussein, to be exact - is being called into question as a factor of fitness for the presidency.

The attack against Obama's middle name has been mounted on at least two fronts so far. Extreme right-wing press consultants frame stories using Obama's full name, apparently with the intention of tapping American's association of the name with Iraq's fallen leader. Some Republican extremists have even taken to referring to the junior Illinois senator solely as "Hussein," sometimes leading to confusion between the presidential contender and the late Saddam Hussein.

The other front is somewhat more deliberate and - arguably - diabolical. By capitalizing on the traditional Muslim name, taken from the name of Ali's son, Republicans hope to associate Obama with Muslim causes - which as many pundits have observed, has been repeatedly demonized by rhetoric from the "War on Terror."

A great example of this tactic is the recent Tennessee Republican Party release that stated:

"The Tennessee Republican Party today joins a growing chorus of Americans concerned about the future of the nation of Israel, the only stable democracy in the Middle East, if Sen. Barack Hussein Obama is elected president of the United States."

Although the Republican National Committee quickly distanced itself from this statement, they fell short of demanding a retraction. A slap on the wrist to the Tennessee party and a quiet apology to Obama from Republican candidate John McCain were the only fallout from this malicious announcement. Certainly, more could have been done.

More could be done too, to quell the rumors of Obama's alleged Muslim ties. Despite affirmations of Obama's Christian faith, some evangelicals still cling to the Muslim accusation. Under Islamic law - after all - the child of a Muslim will always be a Muslim and it is true that Barack H. Obama, Sr, the presidential contender's father, is a Muslim.

Continued...

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