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Vote for Barack "Hussein" Obama?Reader comment on item: Barack Obama through Muslim Eyes Submitted by Charles Evans (United States), Oct 23, 2008 at 14:10 Like it or not, America is at war with militant Islam, an off - shoot of the more moderate form of the religion that takes the Koran literally and attempts to impliment Sharia law across the world. Combating this dangerous ideology requires many tactics, most notably militarily (in action, preemptive use and as a deterrence), economically (resolving an addiction to foreign oil, most notably in Saudi Arabia), racially (use of the Patriot Act and careful right infringement as a necessity to prevent catastrophic events), in terms of immigration (closing the border for a number of reasons), and in the propaganda/media arena. It is this latter area that is perhaps the most misunderstood and neglected in America's post-9/11 policy. Two of George Bush's greatest blunders originated from an inaccurate label to the aforementioned enemy of America. By labeling our adversary "terrorism" due to the chains of political correctness, focus shifted from Afghanstan to Iraq, a nation lead by a secularist, Saddam Hussein. By selecting Iraq, instead of nations lead by an Islamist ideology such as Iran, Bush wasted active collateral he acquired following the events of 9/11. He has dangerously lost any mandated influence following this decision and unfortunately cannot deal with the Iranian threat properly. By creating turmoil in Iraq, at least for the first few years of the engagement, America has drastically lost the propaganda leg of the war. From Al-Jazeera to NBC to Fox, moderate Muslims around the world have not been thoroughly convinced that their religion has been bastardized. Perhaps the most important area of this battle is in the strengthening of the moderate Muslim's identity and importance in this struggle. The moderate Muslim community has the potential to serve as the most important factor in this war. This is a calling of the highest order, when considering the following: 1) Infiltration of Islamist camps world-wide versus penalty of being ‘found out' by an Islamist (such as be-heading) 2) Similarly, using the media as a means to connect to other moderate Muslims around the world, versus the ever-danger of deadly persecution (what Salmon Rushdie dealt with comes to mind) 3) The essentials of the Patriotic Act and racial profiling versus the uncomfortable and at times wrong and immoral treatment of any given Muslim. Unfortunately, political correctness has inhibited any modern leader to call on the moderate Muslim community to do their part in this ongoing battle. John McCain supports a tough stand on Iran and also doesn't fear enemy identification. History tells us that Islamism uses a variety of tactics as well and negotiation with this element is dangerous (Oslo Accords featuring Clinton/Arafat and the increase in Palestinian terrorism, battle tactics by the prophet Mohammed himself to ‘buy-time', etc.) Indeed, John McCain let down all conservatives by selecting a women as vice president (you don't seriously think Acmadenajad would discuss nuclear proliferation in between winks and Alaskan dialect, do you?) Negotiation with the moderate Muslim community is on the other hand vital. However, one can only imagine how the Muslim world views the man: A typical, older white male who will undoubtedly continue on the course George Bush started. Will McCain inspire moderate Muslims to act? Certainly not. Our other choice is equally bleak. Barack Hussein Obama foolishly believes negotiation with this danger would succeed. And if McCain/Bush are politically correct, it goes without saying that a proper labeling of the enemy of civilization would not come from Hussein Obama. Considering all of the above, the answer to my personal problem of who to vote for lies within a first name and a last name. Moderate Islam needs to be coerced into believing that America, and not Militant Islam, is and should be a beacon for good and freedom. Will Obama call on the moderate Muslim community to engage in this endeavor? Probably not. However, by viewing the first minority president with a Muslim name to boot, this segment of the population may realize that America's principles are strikingly superior to their deranged brothern, and not as racist as previously perceived prior to an Obama victory. After all, Americans are superficial; look at how they ate up the rock-star/messiah show the eloquent Obama has performed throughout the entire election. Perhaps moderate Muslims will see this handsome face with the right name for them. Maybe his name will unintentionally unite this community against its militant counterpart. He does not get my vote because his skin is black, (affirmative action) green (both inexperienced and environmental) nor thin (he's very sensitive), but simply because his name is Barack Hussein Obama. Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". << Previous Comment Next Comment >> Reader comments (469) on this item
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