The Sad Reality of Election 2008: No Muslims Allowed
“A young Muslim woman said she and another woman were refused seats directly behind Barack Obama - and in front of TV cameras - at a Detroit rally because they wear head scarfs. Hebba Aref said today that she and Shimaa Abdelfadeel were among 20,000 supporters who gathered to see Obama on Monday at the Joe Louis Arena when the groups they were with were separately invited by Obama campaign workers to sit behind the podium. But Aref said the campaign workers told members of both parties in separate discussions that women wearing hijabs, the traditional Muslim head scarves, weren’t included in the invitation and couldn’t sit behind the podium.” (Source AP)
This is the sad political reality of 2008. All things Muslims are viewed with fear. Every since 9/11 all Muslims have been under a microscope. The crime these women committed was wearing their traditional headgear. The Obama Detroit team knew that if they were pictured behind him the zealots on the right would have had a field day with the picture. Barack Obama is a Christian, but throughout the campaign Sen. Obama has had to say repeatedly that he is not a Muslim. The truth is these women were mistreated, but the reality is this is a hard campaign and a picture with them in the background is simply not acceptable in this political season. A few weeks ago we saw Dunkin Donuts pull a Rachel Ray ad because some conservative bloggers said the scarf she was wearing looked like the garb of radical Muslims. Is this right? No, we are nation of immigrants, but sadly in this season the unspoken sign is no Muslims allowed.
