American Muslims getting a raw deal

By Bob Ray Sanders

Muslim.

Come on; say it out loud: Mus-lim.

When you hear that word, what comes to mind?

Arab? Terrorist? Shrouded women? Saddam Hussein? Barack Obama?

How about American?

As the war in Iraq continues and as a man with a “funny name” (his words) runs for president of the United States, there is an undercurrent — fast becoming a riptide — of negative feelings toward Muslims based mainly on old stereotypes and renewed prejudices.

Egged on by the voices of right-wing commentators who constantly harangue against “Islamist extremists,” real and imagined, more and more Americans find it easy to discriminate against Muslims in general as well as their fellow citizens who happen to practice Islam.

The constant repeating of Obama’s middle name, Hussein, plays into those prejudices, and it is no wonder that 12 percent of Americans still think he is Muslim, according to a poll released last month by the Pew Research Center. That is despite all the publicity over the controversy with the candidate’s longtime Christian minister.

While a candidate’s religion shouldn’t matter, these detractors understand all too well that religious bigotry is real and can certainly have an effect on a political campaign.

But this is not about Obama.

Religious discrimination

In this stifling atmosphere of religious discrimination, it would be wise for us to revisit another Pew poll conducted more than a year ago to gauge the attitude of Muslim Americans about themselves, their country and their American brothers and sisters.

If you missed Pew’s “Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream” report, published in May 2007, you might be surprised by some of its findings.

The research center estimated that there were 2.35 million Muslim Americans, with 1.5 million 18 or older — voting age.

“Muslim Americans are a highly diverse population, one largely comprised of immigrants,” the report’s opening paragraph said. “Nonetheless, they are decidedly American in their outlook, values and attitudes. Overwhelmingly, they believe that hard work pays off in this society.”

The report noted that about 65 percent of adult Muslims living in the United States were born in another country, with 39 percent having come to the U.S. since 1990.

“The survey shows that although many Muslims are relative newcomers to the U.S., they are highly assimilated into American society,” the report said. “With the exception of very recent immigrants, most report that a large proportion of their closest friends are non-Muslim. ... And by nearly 2-to-1 (63 percent-32 percent), Muslim Americans do not see a conflict between being a devout Muslim and living in a modern society.”

War on terrrorism

There is no surprise that many Muslims in this country expressed discontent with the country’s war on terrorism since, according to 53 percent of them, it has become more difficult to be Muslim in America since 9/11. And 75 percent said the U.S. was wrong to go to war in Iraq.

“Very few Muslim Americans — just 1 percent — say that suicide bombings against civilian targets are often justified to defend Islam; an additional 7 percent say suicide bombings are sometimes justified in these circumstances,” the report indicated, pointing out that the percentages are higher in Great Britain, France and Spain.

“Overall, just 5 percent of Muslim Americans express even somewhat favorable opinions of al-Qaida,” the report said.

Just over half of those surveyed said they were very concerned about the increase in Islamic extremism around the world, a much greater concern than expressed by Muslims in Western Europe.

“When asked about their general outlook on politics, 38 percent of Muslim Americans describe their political views as moderate; a quarter describe themselves as liberal, while 19 percent describe themselves as conservative,” the report said.

X Bob Ray Sanders is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune.