Politics AND Religion. Oh boy!!

We were in Pet Smart the other day and had a conversation with a couple employees regarding Obama. One was a supporter and a proud Democrat, much like us. The other was an older woman who did not volunteer her affiliation other than to say she was 'confused'. As we talked I realized just how confused she was.

During the conversation, the older woman asked if we believed the stuff that was being said about Obama. Not really knowing what she was talking about, I asked her to be more specific. She said, "Like that he is Muslim and was sworn in on the Qur'an." My jaw probably dropped upon realizing there are still people that believe this rumor -- especially after all of the coverage Reverend Wright received.

We responded that the rumor was not true. Obama is a Christian and was sworn in on a bible. She then made the statement that really concerned me. She said, "Okay, because that really scares the devil out of me."

Say what?

Is this the message that the Bush Administration has perpetuated? I found myself in the awkward position of having to clear up the confusion by professing that Obama is not a Muslim, while at the same time thinking to myself, so what if he was?

Was this woman, and I presume many others, so naive that they are actually scared of all Muslims? We have had a God-fearing Christian in the White House for nearly 8 years that has done nothing but run this country into the ground and is directly responsible for the deaths of more than 3,000 men and women in an unjust war in Iraq, not even counting those that have been mentally and physically disabled, yet it is the Muslims who are to be feared? I do not get it.

This type of sterotypical prejudice ticks me off. I am especially angered by the thought that most of the people saying they fear Muslims couldn't even tell you one thing about the Islam religion. To them Muslim = Terrorist and that is the end of it.

Sure, there are Muslim extremists who will use Islam as a justification for blowing up a bus in Jerusalem. There are also Christian extremeist who have attacked and even killed doctors who perform abortions in this country. In neither case should these incidents be used to paint all Muslims and Christians with the same brush.

Let us not forget that there are about 1.5 billion, yes billion, Muslims on this planet and a slightly greater number of Christians. Should the disturbing actions of a few hundred, or even thousand, be enough to imply the entire group is evil?

I am not a Muslim. I am not a Christian. I am not a Jew. I am a Unitarian Universalist. I believe that this is a great big world and there is room for people to have a lot of different beliefs. I believe that our ability to accept those with different beliefs is what defines each of us.

The next time I am asked if Obama is a Muslim, I will respond that he is not, but his religious affiliation alone should not make any difference in our opinion of the man.