Muslim-Americans Cautiously Optimistic about Obama
Yesterday morning, as I rushed to eat my breakfast and leave for class, my father tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Guess what?” With little interest I asked “What?” and expected my dad to crack another joke about Obama converting to Islam, but instead he said, “On the first day, Obama suspended all the trials at Guantanamo Bay. He’s shutting it down.” I was pleasantly surprised.
As I drove to college, I felt a little more optimistic about Barack Husayn Obama’s Presidency. “So far, so good,” I said to myself. “Not bad, not bad.” As I read the article myself, the skeptic in me surfaced again when I read Guantanamo Bay would be shut down within a year’s time. In a facility where Muslim detainees, many of whom are suspected “terrorists” and Al-Qaida “links,” are victimized by brutal and unlawful methods of torture, such as being forced to eat pork, drink alcohol, and curse the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), am I the only one who thinks one year is too long?
The truth is I struggled, and continue to struggle, with my support for Obama. During election time, I proudly supported him. I put his lawn signs up and even convinced others to vote for him. Muslim-Americans, including friends of mine, campaigned for him and encouraged fellow Muslims to show their support.
As someone who has experienced Islamophobia first-hand, foreign policy and racial profiling were probably the most important issues to me in this election. Hate crimes and discriminatory acts towards Muslims increased on an annual basis, and I did not hear President Bush voice any concern about it. In addition to how the media kept vilifying Islam and isolating the Muslim voice, I felt like an outsider. But when I saw Obama run for president and talk about so many things, like engaging in diplomacy with Muslim countries, ending racial profiling, closing Guantanamo Bay, and even going as far to state that the U.S. is not just a Christian nation, but a Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Atheist nation as well, I felt like the positive image of America could be restored again and that I wouldn’t just be viewed as an “immigrant-American” anymore. For once, I felt like I could look at our flag and connect with it in a way that I never did before. But those moments were very brief and they went away quickly.
During the presidential debates, he spoke with so much hostility towards Pakistan. He came off sounding very ignorant and misinformed about the situation. Then Gaza was a wake up call. With over 1,300 people dead, I can’t help but wonder why Obama would condemn the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, but not have the courage to condemn Israel’s terrorist attacks on Gaza. During the crisis, I re-watched his speech at AIPAC several times and felt my hopes in him crumbling away.
After one of the Gaza rallies in Philadelphia, a friend of mine said, “everyone at that rally voted for Obama. Is he going to show us any appreciation in return?” I voted for Obama because I am sick of feeling like an outsider. I voted for Obama because I’m sick of seeing only one side of the story, while Muslims are vilified in the mainstream media. I voted for Obama because I don’t want my heart to feel any more pain whenever I’m praying for fellow human beings who are being killed overseas.
And then, just last night, things started to shift again for me. After Isha prayer at my local Mosque, my fellow Muslim brothers and I were talking about Obama’s order to shut down Guantanamo bay. I expressed my disappointment over Obama not saying anything to condemn Israel’s attacks on Gaza, but then a fellow Muslim brother told me that the expectation level for Obama is so high that if he makes one little mistake, we get very critical of him. This needs to change, he encouraged. We shouldn’t be too quick to judge. As our discussion carried on, I decided to make my own list of “Pros” and “Cons” about Obama’s Presidency in respect to issues that concern many Muslim-Americans.
Pros:
1. His name is Barack Husayn Obama. Whether people like it or not, he has a Muslim background. Though there are conflicting reports, it looks like his grandmother, Sarah Husayn Obama, is a Muslim. It is also clear that he has Muslim relatives. I personally believe this is a very positive sign because it will most likely make him more sympathetic to the Muslim world (as well as the struggles of Muslim-Americans). This would give him more credibility and respect in the Muslim world than any other American president.
2. According to the official website for the White House, the Obama administration promises to end racial profiling. As the agenda states: “President Obama and Vice President Biden will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and provide federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice.”
3. President Obama has already signed the executive orders to shut down Guantanamo Bay within a year. It is truly comforting that the new President has acted so swiftly to prohibit unlawful methods of prisoner abuse and torture. Muslims-Americans, as well as Muslims around the world, are still outraged by how the Bush administration stood by silently while interrogators desecrated Qur’ans and flushed them down toilets in order to intimidate detainees.
4. Diplomacy with Iran. This was one of the many issues that made Muslim-Americans distance themselves from John McCain. Although the Obama administration claims to perceive Iran as a “threat,” it promises to engage in direct diplomacy with its leadership. I would like to think that Obama already acknowledges the fact that Iran has a Jewish population of over 25,000 and even has Jewish representation in the Iranian parliament. One would hope that the Obama administration noticed the Iranian Jews who took to the streets of Iran and protested against Israel’s attacks in Gaza.
Cons:
1. Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to the official White House website, the Obama administration promises to “refocus American resources on the greatest threat to our security — the resurgence of al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They will increase our troop levels in Afghanistan, press our allies in NATO to do the same, and dedicate more resources to revitalize Afghanistan’s economic development. Obama and Biden will demand the Afghan government do more, including cracking down on corruption and the illicit opium trade” (emphasis added). Reading this statement makes one ask: “Weren’t we voting for an anti-war President?” In regards to Pakistan, “Obama and Biden will increase nonmilitary aid to Pakistan and hold them accountable for security in the border region with Afghanistan.” It doesn’t make sense to me why the Obama administration would increase troop levels in Afghanistan and yet not send military aid to Pakistan. As I mentioned in another post of mine, Pakistan has suffered (and continues to suffer) a great deal when it comes to combating the Taliban. It’s rather unsettling how Obama doesn’t seem to recognize this.
2. Hilary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Rahm Emanuel are all in Obama’s cabinet. Hilary Clinton once stated she would “obliterate Iran,” Joe Biden is a self-proclaimed Zionist, and Rahm Emanuel served in the Israeli military and is very pro-Israel. I know Obama has the final say on things, but one cannot help but worry about his cabinet’s potential influences.
3. Israel. Will we finally see a president who takes a strong stance against Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian people? Will we finally see a president who will sincerely help the Israelis and Palestinians come to a resolution without vilifying the Palestinians? Or are we going to see the same failed policies of the Bush administration? It should be obvious to people by now that AIPAC has an immense influence on U.S. politics. It’s hard to imagine someone getting elected president of the United States without supporting AIPAC and the state of Israel.
4. Obama may fail to understand the Muslim world in the same way Bush failed to. During Obama’s speech on inauguration day, he said: “To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society’s ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy…” He’s clearly addressing the Muslim world here and what’s so frustrating is that this statement paints the same image that Bush presented, i.e. the Muslim world is “destroying” and killing people without any reason. Of course there is violence taking place in the Muslim world, but what triggered that violence? You look at Iraq, and you’ll see that violence erupted in the form of resistance against U.S. invasion and occupation. You look at Palestine, and you see violent resistance against the brutal Israeli military occupation. Obama continued and said: “The world will judge you on what you build, not what you destroy…” Well if Iraq, Palestine, and Afghanistan get a chance to build instead of getting bombed, then I’m sure things would be much different. And wasn’t Israel recently bombing innocent people and destroying places like schools, Mosques, and hospitals?
Anyway, these are just a few “Pros” and “Cons” that I thought of the other night. I’m sure others have more to add. I want to believe Obama can bring a positive change. I can’t imagine how a man like him can sit down and speak to the late Palestinian academic, Edward Said, and then (many years later) kiss up to Israel and AIPAC. I can’t imagine how a man like him could speak to Rashid Khalidi and not see the oppression taking place against the Palestinians. I sincerely hope that my worries about him are wrong. I’d rather be cautiously optimistic and suprised than be overly enthusiastic and end up feeling disappointed and fooled.
Tags: Afghanistan, AIPAC, Barack Hussein Obama, Barack Obama, Foreign policy, Gaza, Guantanamo bay, Iran, Iraq, Islamophobia, Israel, Jews, Muslims, Pakistan, Palestine, Zionism
January 23, 2009 1:35 am 4 Comments
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By Orchid, January 23, 2009 @ 11:07 pm
Goodness! I have been thinking about these same exact points since the beginning of his campaign. It’s great that he’s so genuine, so human, but I need to see that he is not as arrogant towards the middle east as most Americans I’ve observed are. I need him to be able to stand up to Israel and stop this blind support people have for the country. Israel is not without sin!
I have so much hope for the administration, but my hope is severely weakened when I think of how he might be towards the middle east and other countries. Great post! I’m so glad you wrote it!
By John Doe, January 24, 2009 @ 1:06 pm
what is wrong with Obama’s stance on Afghanastain?
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By Jehanzeb, January 25, 2009 @ 12:12 pm
@ John Doe,
The problem with Obama’s stance on Afghanistan is that it’s too simplified. Bombing an entire region just because extremists are located there isn’t exactly much of a “change” from what the Bush administration did. So many innocent Afghans have been killed in the U.S. invasion. Many of them are still suffering and their houses have never been rebuilt. When the U.S. kills innocent civilians, it only creates more enemies.
For example, there were a group of Taliban extremists who banned girls from going to school. But what we don’t hear is that one of the lead Taliban members said this was wrong. He didn’t agree with it. We don’t hear about these things because we think of the Taliban as a group of people who all think exactly the same. Just because I am against distortion of facts doesn’t mean I support the Taliban.
The more accurately we understand a situation, the better we will be at finding solutions. Increasing troop levels in Afghanistan will just be counter-productive. The Taliban have an extreme and radical ideology that will be fueled even more by increased U.S. presence. Diplomacy is the best option. And let’s not forget how the CIA trained, supported, and funded the Taliban. It’s a very complex situation that requires more thought than just saying “drop bombs on them.”
By Anjali, January 27, 2009 @ 9:54 am
I agree. I was extremely pleased with Obama’s order to close Gitmo. A year is better than never and they do have lots to decide in terms of what to do with the current inmates.
As far as Israel is concerned, Obama has a big challenge in front of him. Though personally, I think he denounces Israel’s actions, he will not get much support from the pro-Israel American government. Perhaps that’s why he has remained silent on Israel. He will definitely lose support from many people if he says anything anti-Israel. First, he needs to change their views and then speak his. It’s amazing how many Americans know so little about the Gaza topic yet find no guilt in saying that Palestinians are all terrorists. These views need to be obliterated first.
And as far as Afghanistan and Pakistan, their national governments should take a better, bigger stance is fighting internal terrorism. Of course, the Taliban was funded by the CIA but now, Afghanistan’s government and its people should be strong enough to prevent the Taliban from regaining power. It shouldn’t be America’s business to randomly bomb every bit of the country. Pakistan.. first needs a political reform. The current government has failed repeatedly in dealing with terrorists.
It’s not enough to support a nation because it is Muslim or Christian or Hindu or Jewish, it should be its actions that should be looked at. Perhaps if my fellow Americans could for once see that point, they could see something else in the Muslim world. Perhaps they could understand that it isn’t very much different..