A great Muslim American

[Chris]

The woman in the picture is his mother....

Colin Powell talked about this man on Meet the Press yesterday.

You can read about him at this link.

Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan - Swampland - TIME

 

[Chris]

I know I was not the only one moved to tears by the following remarks of Colin Powell:

"I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say, and it is permitted to be said. Such things as 'Well you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.' Well the correct answer is 'He is not a Muslim, he's a Christian, he's 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 is 'No. That's not America.' Is there something wrong with some 7-year old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she can 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.
"I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo-essay about troops who were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in you can see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have a Star of David. It had a crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Karim Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American, he was born in New Jersey, he was 14 at the time of 9/11 and he waited until he can go serve his counrty and he gave his life."

It is important that Secretary Powell's statement not be minimized to a political endorsement. It was so much more.

But despite the powerful imagery and language used by Secretary Powell, there are two unfortunate facts that accompany his statement. First, the fact that I was so moved by his statement highlights the fact that the many calls for denouncing bigotry towards Muslims have gone ignored. Many Americans, not only American Muslims, have been denouncing Islamophobia in the campaign for over a year, making comments from high-profiled public officials long overdue. Secondly, the portion of the endorsement that I chose to highlight above is likely to get lost in the news. That is because decrying Islamophobia, even though it seemed to be the most important reason for Powell's decision to endorse Obama, is simply not sexy. Very few in the media will give proper credit to Powell for rejecting prejudice towards Muslims. But of all the bigotries exposed in this election cycle, including racism and sexism, Islamophobia has been the most consistent and unchallenged.

On Faith: Guest Voices: Powell Rejects Islamophobia

 

[jimmyb]

That's a great article. The excellence of America is that great people come from all backgrounds.

 

[Jon]

Powell made some excellent points about racism towards Muslims. The accusations that Obama is a Muslim have always rubbed me the wrong way, for the same reason Powell stated, "So what if he is?" Being a Muslim does not mean being against America.

I have a lot of respect for Colin Powell, although I think he's become a lame duck politician.

 

[WillowTree]

Powell made some excellent points about racism towards Muslims. The accusations that Obama is a Muslim have always rubbed me the wrong way, for the same reason Powell stated, "So what if he is?" Being a Muslim does not mean being against America.

I have a lot of respect for Colin Powell, although I think he's become a lame duck politician.

Here is the fundamental problem with a Muslim as President. In my mind anyway. Americans value the tenet of seperation of church and state. In the Muslim world the religion is the law. Therefore it would be impossible for him to seperate chruch from state.

 

[Gem]

WillowTree Wrote:

Here is the fundamental problem with a Muslim as President. In my mind anyway. Americans value the tenet of seperation of church and state. In the Muslim world the religion is the law. Therefore it would be impossible for him to seperate chruch from state.

I feel that this is the same sort of silly fear that people had about Kennedy. Oh, he'll have to listen to the Pope and not the Constitution...he won't be able to seperate church from state because his religion preaches that the Pope is the head!

A Muslim extremist might not be able to separate church from state...but just as Kennedy was able to successfully be a Catholic and a President...I have nothing but confidence that a man or woman can be Muslim and a President. It just hasn't happened yet...so people are scared.

 

[WillowTree]

WillowTree Wrote:


I feel that this is the same sort of silly fear that people had about Kennedy. Oh, he'll have to listen to the Pope and not the Constitution...he won't be able to seperate church from state because his religion preaches that the Pope is the head!

A Muslim extremist might not be able to separate church from state...but just as Kennedy was able to successfully be a Catholic and a President...I have nothing but confidence that a man or woman can be Muslim and a President. It just hasn't happened yet...so people are scared.

Not really comprable at all. Catholicism iis not law. Islam religion is inseperable from their law.

 

[Chris]

Some voters are ignorant.

McCain is counting on that ignorance, just as Bush did in South Carolina in 2000.

 

[del]

Some voters are ignorant.

McCain is counting on that ignorance, just as Bush did in South Carolina in 2000.

you're gonna fool him and vote for Obama, though.

crafty kirky/chris.

 

[DavidS]

The woman in the picture is his mother....

Colin Powell talked about this man on Meet the Press yesterday.

You can read about him at this link.

Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan - Swampland - TIME

Chris, thank you for posting this picture. This man was a great American!

 

[DavidS]

Here is the fundamental problem with a Muslim as President. In my mind anyway. Americans value the tenet of seperation of church and state. In the Muslim world the religion is the law. Therefore it would be impossible for him to seperate chruch from state.

Where are you getting this from? A secular muslim would be no different than a secular christian or catholic. No radical muslim would ever run for president.

 

[dilloduck]

Not really comprable at all. Catholicism iis not law. Islam religion is inseperable from their law.

You know someone is ful lof shit when they bitch for years about a Christian in the White House who talks to God but a muslim will be just hunky dory. Total hatred for Christians.

 

[Chris]

Chris, thank you for posting this picture. This man was a great American!

It is an amazing story. He was only 14 when 9/11 happened, and all he ever wanted to do was fight for America. I hope one day we will have a world where fine young people don't have to die for their country.

 

[DavidS]

It is an amazing story. He was only 14 when 9/11 happened, and all he ever wanted to do was fight for America. I hope one day we will have a world where fine young people don't have to die for their country.

Do you see that radical righties? A Muslim American died fighting FOR Ameirca. Next time you pull the "Obama is a Muslim" BS, remember this story.

 

[dilloduck]

Do you see that radical righties? A Muslim American died fighting FOR Ameirca. Next time you pull the "Obama is a Muslim" BS, remember this story.

OMG---Did the Bleeding Heart Club go on tour ?

 

[DavidS]

OMG---Did the Bleeding Heart Club go on tour ?

No, the "I respect the men and women who have given their lives to give me the honor and pirevlage of being a citizen of this country" club has gone on tour. As a Republican, you should join it. As an American you should join it. Have you ever met a soldier wounded in the Iraq war? I have. I met a guy who had a prosthetic leg and still had shrapnel in his arm. There was nothing this guy wanted more than to return to the field and keep fighting with his fellow soldiers.

 

[dilloduck]

No, the "I respect the men and women who have given their lives to give me the honor and pirevlage of being a citizen of this country" club has gone on tour. As a Republican, you should join it. As an American you should join it. Have you ever met a soldier wounded in the Iraq war? I have. I met a guy who had a prosthetic leg and still had shrapnel in his arm. There was nothing this guy wanted more than to return to the field and keep fighting with his fellow soldiers.

Not only do I respect the ones who have served and sacrificed but I also respect the ones who want to continue the fight. I worked at Camp Kue Army Hospital on Okinawa during 'Nam. Saw more than you will ever see. Did you know that even white Christians were disfigured and died ?

 

[Red Dawn]

Here is the fundamental problem with a Muslim as President. In my mind anyway. Americans value the tenet of seperation of church and state. In the Muslim world the religion is the law. Therefore it would be impossible for him to seperate chruch from state.

Do you even know any muslim americans? There's a billion muslims on this planet, and many of them support secular government.

Muslim americans in particular support secular government. They're a minority and they are especially sensitive to oppression by the majority religion. I'm sure jewish americans and hindu americans feel the same way.

 

[DavidS]

Not only do I respect the ones who have served and sacrificed but I also respect the ones who want to continue the fight. I worked at Camp Kue Army Hospital on Okinawa during 'Nam. Saw more than you will ever see. Did you know that even white Christians were disfigured and died ?

I don't care what religion or race you are, when you put on an American military uniform, you have my utmost respect and thanks. Arab-American Muslims included.

I've seen on some TV shows soldiers bleeding out from IEDs and roadside bombs... makes me horrifically angry at the whole scenario. We could've done this war a whole lot different. Powell wanted 500,000 troops on the ground so we could destroy everything in site, go to Baghdad, overthrow Saddam, establish a new government and constitution and get out by October 2004. Instead, we still have 150,000 of our brave men and women in harm's way and I don't give a fuck as to how the violence has slowed down, every day an American soldier is killed or wounded, Bush and Cheney have blood on their hands.

 

[DavidS]

Do you even know any muslim americans? There's a billion muslims on this planet, and many of them support secular government.

Muslim americans in particular support secular government. They're a minority and they are especially sensitive to oppression by the majority religion. I'm sure jewish americans and hindu americans feel the same way.

Muslims call their God Allah. Jews call him Yehewah. Christians call him Jesus. It's irrelevant what his name is - what is primarily important is that whoever is elected believes in God's miracles. I would sooner elect a Muslim than I would an athiest.