Archive: News

The recent uproar over the construction of an Islamic Center at Ground Zero has ignited a nation wide discussion about Islam, the 9/ll Terrorist Attack, and President Obama. The entire debate about the Mosque at Ground Zero and the growing anti-Islamic sentiment echoes our nation's struggle to recognize the ever changing fabric of our identity as Americans.

Heated conversations over religion, religious identity, and Presidential alliances to a church have been waged in the United States since its inception. In a country where our national character has been tied up with God since our founding, it's hardly surprising that we decry our political opponents as worshiping a different God than we do.

In 1860, in the midst of tensions surrounding the Civil War, members of the No-Nothing Party disseminated rumors that Abraham Lincoln was a Catholic. Rooted firmly in decades of anti-Catholic sentiment, the accusations stemmed from two sources. The first was the ambiguous nature of Lincoln's upbringing in Illinois, where Jesuit missionaries were very active. This bit of speculation led to the notion that Lincoln had been baptized a Catholic.

Secondly, Lincoln was a prominent critic of the Church. His political opponents widely repeated rumors of "Lincoln the Catholic." One important fact that might have ended the debate about Lincoln's religious affiliation focuses on the very day he was assassinated, Good Friday. No Catholic, regardless of his or her standing in the church, would dare enter into a theater on such a high holy day. Unfortunately, Lincoln did.

In the midst of tensions surrounding America's involvement in World War II, as well as economic hardship from the Great Depression, critics of Franklin Roosevelt labeled him as being Jewish. Coming on the heels of decades of anti-Jewish sentiment, the rumors seem to have been based on the ambiguous origins of Roosevelt's earliest American ancestors, who came from Holland in the 17th century. The second was the abundance of Jewish appointees to Roosevelt's administrations in New York and Washington. Roosevelt's political opponents tried unsuccessfully to use this against him throughout his four terms as president.

Several years later, President Eisenhower learned about the importance of church membership from a close political advisor. Never having been a member of any church, his staff advised him to pick a church and become a member. Twelve months before the 1952 Presidential Election, Eisenhower became a Presbyterian.

President Carter was deeply religious and often was photographed carrying a bible, and he was labeled by his opponents as being too Christian. President Reagan did not attend church, and his wife often consulted astrologers for her celestial guidance.

Today, in the midst of tensions surrounding wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as economic hardship from the Great Recession, opponents of President Obama have declared him to be a Muslim. These rumors are based on the ambiguous nature of Obama's upbringing. His father, a Muslim, relocated the family to a Muslim country during President Obama's formative years.

Secondly, President Obama has reached out to the Muslim world and to Muslim Americans. The president's political opponents have latched onto this with the same fervor as previous generations have done. Whether President Obama is a Muslim, Hindu, Christian, or Couch Potato is not the issue. What I want from a President are solutions to the economic and social problems in this country. I want a President surrounded by people with ideas that will bring us out of our recession and onto the road of recovery. If he accomplishes this while carrying a bible, wearing a yarmulke, or kneeling on a prayer rug, then re-elect him for another four years.

In retrospect, President Obama ought to have chosen his words more carefully at the White House Dinner with American Muslims. He might have suggested that he could mediate a discussion with the concerned parties to foster better understanding and relations much like Pope John Paul II did a few decades ago. If you recall, a group of Carmelite Nuns wanted to establish a convent on land adjacent to Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Jewish Communities across the globe voiced concern over the location. The Pope met privately with the Nuns, and they came up with an alternative site not far from the original one. Like the Pope, the President does hold some sway in any debate. I wish I held a little sway. And that is to the point.

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