Islamaphobia In The 2008 Election

Since September eleventh, America has been drowned with a constant barrage of anti-Islamic sentiments. The racist and xenophobic fringe types still entwined within America’s social fabric have again cast their nets of fear and hatred against Islam. Moreover, in the presidential race we can see how the sick pathologies of xenophobia and racism are playing a factor in the candidacy of Barack Obama. A recent photo of Obama was leaked on the Internet, showing him draped in traditional Somali garb. A reasonable individual might say, of what consequence is this to presidential capabilities of Barack Obama; nothing at all I would answer. However, the bigger issue at hand, is why, and how does such a photo effect the perception Barack Obama to mainstream America?

 Over the past two years, many unfounded rumors have floated around accusing Obama of being a Muslim. One of these reasons is that Barack Obama is the son of a Kenyan born immigrant whose religion was Islam. Obama’s father gave his son a traditional Muslim name, Hussein.  The name Hussein, as we know, could be the modern day proverbial equivalent of naming a child the devil, thanks to the attoricities committed by Sadaam Hussein. In consequence to the attacks of September eleventh, names that have a ring of Middle Eastern origin to them, have begun to cause a little bit of uneasiness for some Americans. Obama being a black man all by itself is an enough to cause fear in the hearts of white America, on top of that, he has the middle name Hussein, which gives more ammunition to the xenophobic and racist types in America.  This fear mongering will manifest itself in the second guessing of many white ( and even some minorities) on the loyalties of Senator Obama. Some will fear him because he is a Muslim, some will fear him because he’s a black man, in fact, some may fear him because they think he is little too far left in his political ideological leanings for their taste.

Further, I wonder if the so called moral conscience of America, that Martin Luther King once attempted to appeal to during the Civil Rights Movement, is alive today? If it is, this sinister and dubious plot by some in the Republican party and even the Democratic party, to inject this campaign with  covert vitriolic sentiments of racism and xenophobia within the presidential race, will fall on deaf ears. However, if it doesn’t, this country will have confirmed to me that racism and xenophobia are as American as the red, white, and blue stitched in the flag.