Some American-Muslim leaders say Barack Obama's website aimed at countering rumors that he is a Muslim -- fightthesmears.com -- sends a negative message about their religion.
By Beth Reinhard
Vanessa Alikhan was at a Democratic "unity party" when she overheard another guest indignantly refute the rumor that Barack Obama is Muslim, as if it were a racial slur. She later recounted the conversation to a friend.
"She told me that this is politics and that I should just deal with it," said Alikhan, a Fort Lauderdale graphic artist who converted to Islam about five years ago. "To me this is the same as telling an African American or a Jewish person they should deal with discrimination because people aren't ready to embrace them as a group."
She and other American Muslims are speaking out, as the Obama campaign pushes back on widely e-mailed and patently false claims that he is tied to Islamic terrorists. The rumor could be particularly damaging in a must-win state like Florida, which has a large Jewish population.
Determined not to be "swift-boated" the way 2004 nominee John Kerry was buried by attacks on his military record, the Obama campaign has set up the website www.fightthesmears.com. While Muslim leaders understand the campaign's responsibility to counter misinformation, they say the classification of being Muslim as a "smear" goes too far. Read more ...
By Beth Reinhard
Vanessa Alikhan was at a Democratic "unity party" when she overheard another guest indignantly refute the rumor that Barack Obama is Muslim, as if it were a racial slur. She later recounted the conversation to a friend.
"She told me that this is politics and that I should just deal with it," said Alikhan, a Fort Lauderdale graphic artist who converted to Islam about five years ago. "To me this is the same as telling an African American or a Jewish person they should deal with discrimination because people aren't ready to embrace them as a group."
She and other American Muslims are speaking out, as the Obama campaign pushes back on widely e-mailed and patently false claims that he is tied to Islamic terrorists. The rumor could be particularly damaging in a must-win state like Florida, which has a large Jewish population.
Determined not to be "swift-boated" the way 2004 nominee John Kerry was buried by attacks on his military record, the Obama campaign has set up the website www.fightthesmears.com. While Muslim leaders understand the campaign's responsibility to counter misinformation, they say the classification of being Muslim as a "smear" goes too far. Read more ...
Source: Miami Herald
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