Surprise: A president speaks about being Muslim and American

Opinion: September 2, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Dick Polman

Philadelphia Inquirer

As we navigate the waning days of our xenophobic summer, with so many opportunists in high dudgeon about Muslims in our midst, perhaps it’d be wise to quote a notably tolerant Republican — somebody whose words might possibly shame the fearmongers who currently pervade his own party.

For instance: “America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens, and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country. Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms and dads. And they need to be treated with respect. In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect. ... They love America just as much as I do.”

On Sept. 17, 2001, so said President George W. Bush.

Hey, I’m starting to miss the guy. Notwithstanding the disastrous aspects of his presidency, his generous, inclusive attitude toward immigrants of color — particularly Muslim-Americans in the wake of 9/11 — was always in the finest American tradition. We could use a sustained dose of his tone today.

Changing traditions

Unfortunately, the conservative movement that he twice led to victory now seems to have shelved that pluralistic tradition, preferring instead to sow fear to reap short-term political gain. And few prominent Republican politicians have had the courage — heck, it’s not even courage, it’s a duty — to step forward and denounce the roiling irrationality that currently infects our political discourse.

So we’re stuck with the faux issue of a “ground zero mosque” that’s actually not just a mosque (it’s a proposed community center with an interfaith board of directors) and not at ground zero; with Newt Gingrich equating all Muslims with Nazis; with myriad attacks on mosques in Florida (pipe bombs, bullets); with Sarah Palin Twittering her simplicities; with an evangelical pastor who plans to mark the 9/11 anniversary by burning copies of the Quran (when asked what he knew about the Quran, he replied, “I have no experience with it whatsoever”); with a tea party blogger who writes that all Muslims are “animals” who worship a “monkey god,” and whatever else the haters are doing in our name.

Let us try to quell the hatred, however briefly, by skimming the cream of the Bush ouevre. What you’re about to read was mainstream Republican thinking just a few years ago.

From the president’s second inaugural address, on Jan. 20, 2005:

“In America’s ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private character — on integrity and tolerance toward others. ... That edifice of character is built in families, supported by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Quran. ... “

From remarks on June 27, 2007, at the rededication of the Islamic Center in Washington:

“We come to express our appreciation for a faith that has enriched civilization for centuries. We come in celebration of America’s diversity of faith and our unity as free people. And we hold in our hearts the ancient wisdom of the great Muslim poet Rumi: ’The lamps are different, but the light is the same.”’

From remarks on Sept. 17, 2001:

“Both Americans and Muslim friends and citizens, tax-paying citizens ... were just appalled and could not believe what we saw on our TV screens. These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith. And it’s important for my fellow Americans to understand that. ... Let me quote from the Quran itself: ’In the long run, evil in the extreme will be the end of those who do evil. For that they rejected the signs of Allah and held them up to ridicule.’ The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace.”

A practical purpose

But even at the time, Bush was no starry-eyed naif. Aside from the fact that his calls for tolerance were in the best American tradition, there was also a dash of calculation. He and his advisers knew that al-Qaida wanted to frame the war on terror as a clash of civilizations. Therefore, it ill-served America to behave as though it were at war with Islam. It was smarter to embrace the followers of Islam, as a way of isolating the violent extremists who had perverted its tenets. Basically, this was a national-security priority. It still is.

Dick Polman is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.