What to make of the Pew poll which reveals that more, not fewer, Americans now misidentify Barack Obama as a Muslim? (That number has spiked from 11 percent to 18 percent in one year.) Should we be surprised by this?
Beliefs about Obama's religion are closely linked to politicaljudgments about him. Those who say he is a Muslim overwhelminglydisapprove of his job performance, while a majority of those who thinkhe is a Christian approve of the job Obama is doing. Those who areunsure about Obama's religion are about evenly divided in their viewsof his performance.
Maybe before the Greak Mosque Freak-Out of 2010 this would have been more surprising, this idea that "Muslim" is synonymous with "un-American" or "anti-American." But for three weeks we've been asked to admire the resilience and bravery of the family members of 9/11 victims who believe that the existence of a Muslim worship center defiles the area near Ground Zero. It's acceptable, respectable to argue that this religion, not just the radical perversions of it, is a threat to America. So it becomes a way of describing what's wrong with Barack Obama. Over at Powerline, a blog people used to read in 2004, John Hinderaker mocks the Associated Press for stating, factually, that Obama is not a Muslim, and he muses:
First, we are seeing fallout from the Jeremiah Wright affair. I wouldnever presume to pass judgment on Obama's spiritual life. But one thingI will say with confidence: Jeremiah Wright is no Christian... Obama postures as a citizen of the world who has graced America bycondescending to be our President and to instruct us. Some liberalsaccept this posturing gratefully, but most Americans don't. Obama has defined himself as literally exotic. Small wonder that someAmericans attribute exotic qualities to him. We're not sure who he is,exactly, but he certainly isn't one of us. Given the currents thatswirl through world events these days, being a Muslim is oneinterpretation of Obama's exoticism. Those who construe Obama in thisway may well be wrong, but it is not hard to understand why theyinterpret his aloof non-Americanism in this way.
That's some analysis, isn't it? "Being a Muslim is one interpretation of Obama's exoticism." Of course: the Muslims who live in this country are un-American. Those Muslims who supported the War in Iraq? Probably un-American, just very, very sneaky. Muslims who donate to the GOP? Softening us up for the takeover, probably. Those Muslims who died on 9/11? Let's assume they were plants. To be American is to agree with John Hinderaker; to disagree is to be a Muslim.
I'm remembering what Sarah Palin said about the "mosque" that got liberals so angry: "peace-seeking Muslims, please understand, ground zero mosque is unnecessary provocation." Implicit in that statement is the belief that there are "peace-seeking Muslims." We're learning about a lot of people who won't go that far. They view Muslims the way that the czars used to view the Jews.
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