Islamophobia Has No Place in the United States of America

From Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/warren-j-blumenfeld/islamophobia_b_1225226.html

Warren J. Blumenfeld

Posted: 01/26/2012

Recently speaking at a town hall meeting at an American Legion Hall in Lady Lake, Florida, presidential hopeful Rick Santorum fielded a question, or rather, a comment from a woman in the audience who forcefully proclaimed: "I never refer to Obama as President Obama because legally he is not. He constantly says that our constitution is passé, and he ignores it as you know and does what he darn well pleases. He is an avowed Muslim, and my question is, why isn't something being done to get him out of government? He has no legal right to be calling himself president!"

Though Santorum opposes President Obama on many of the issues, he had a magnificent opportunity to take an ethical stand when addressing this woman, but he chose instead to virtually play into her obvious Islamophobic statements by merely responding to issues she raised related to the Constitution.

"Well look, I'm doing my best to get him out of the government right now, and you're right about how he uniformly ignores the constitution," Santorum responded. "He did this with these appointments over the recess that was not a recess, and if I was in the United States Senate I would be drawing the line."

As the old truism goes, "If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem." By not standing up to this woman's obvious Islamophobia, Santorum was complicit in the demonization, marginalization,, and victimization of Muslims and those perceived as Muslim.

Islamophobia can be defined as prejudice and discrimination toward the religion of Islam and Muslims who follow its teachings and practices. Like racism, sexism, and heterosexism, for example, Islamophobia is much more than a fear, for it is a taught and often learned attitude and behavior, and, therefore, falls under the category of oppression.

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