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46 T I K K U N W W W. T I K K U N . O R G S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 8 generationshavenone.You’reclearthattheemphasisshouldbeonconservationandnewtechnologies,andyou’reright onthat. We need your commitment to engage actively from the start in helping heal the gaping sore between Israel and Palestine. What power structure will defend minority rights in Jerusalem? How will we get the creeping occupation stoppedandreversed? We need healing between secular people and people of faith. E.J. Dionne wrote in the Washington Post that your speechonfaithofJune282006(availableonbarackobama.com)“maybethemostimportantpronouncementbyaDemocratonfaithandpoliticssinceJohnF .Kennedy'sHoustonspeechin1960declaringhisindependencefromtheVatican .” You said then that we need to “tackle head-on the mutual suspicion that sometimes exists between religious AmericaandsecularAmerica.”Secularistsneedtoallowroomforvoicesoffaith.Youtestifiedtoyourownpathtofaith inTrinityUnitedChurchofChrist.“That'sapaththathasbeensharedbymillionsuponmillionsofAmericans—evangelicals , Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims alike; some since birth, others at certain turning points in their lives.... If we truly hope to speak to people where they're at—to communicate our hopes and values in a way that's relevanttotheirown —thenasprogressives,wecannotabandonthefieldofreligiousdiscourse.” Andconservativesneedtoremember“thecriticalrolethattheseparationofchurchandstatehasplayedinpreservingnot only our democracy, but therobustness of our religious practice. Folks tendto forget thatduringourfounding, itwasn'ttheatheistsorthecivillibertarianswhowerethemosteffectivechampionsoftheFirstAmendment.Itwasthe persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland ... it was the forbearers of the evangelicals who were the most adamantaboutnotminglinggovernmentwithreligion,becausetheydidnotwantstate-sponsoredreligionhindering theirabilitytopracticetheirfaithastheyunderstoodit.” Youspokeahumbleandahealingword:“Soweallhavesomeworktodohere.ButIamhopefulthatwecanbridge thegapsthatexistandovercometheprejudiceseachofusbringstothisdebate.AndIhavefaiththatmillionsofbelievingAmericanswantthattohappen .... Andthatnight,beforeIwenttobedIsaidaprayerofmyown.It'saprayerIthink IsharewithalotofAmericans.Ahopethatwecanlivewithoneanotherinawaythatreconcilesthebeliefsofeachwith thegoodofall.” Forthecommongood—thegoodofall—andhealing.■ DearSenatorObama:LetmetellyouaStory by EbooPatel I wanttotellyouastorythatI’veneversharedwithanybodyelsebeforethis. WhenIranforclassrepresentativeinseventhgrade,agirlinmymostly-whitejuniorhighinthewesternsuburbsofChicagosaid ,“You’llneverwin.YoulookliketheguyinMadonna’s‘LikeaPrayer’video.” Shemeantthe blackguy. “I’m not black,” I told her. But I knew, and she knew, that her comment wasn’t about my skin color. It was aboutwhichskincolorshouldrepresentour7thgradeclass. Ican’thelpbutthinkofthatexperienceeverytimetheissueofyoursecretMuslimidentityisraised. Let’sgetonethingstraight.Peoplewhodon’tknowthatyou’reaChristianmusthavelookedhardforthebiggestrock theycouldfindandclimbedunderit.Youhaveparticipatedincountlesshigh-profileChristianevents,fromRickWarren ’sconferenceonAIDSinAfricatotheCompassionForumonCNN.Youhavewritteneloquentlyaboutyourfaithin bothofyourbest-sellingbooks. Your faith is not what this whisper campaign is about. The people running the campaign know how you pray. Like LETTERS TOTHECANDIDATES Eboo Patel is the Founder and Executive Director of the Interfaith Youth Core. He writes “The Faith Divide” blog for the Washington Post. HisbookActsofFaithwasrecentlypublishedinpaperback. Politics_3.qxd:Politics 8/10/08 1:39 PM Page 46 S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 8 W W W. T I K K U N . O R G T I K K U N 47 thegirlinmyjuniorhigh,theirtargetisdifferent. When I look back on my junior high experience , I feel humiliated about how I responded to that girl. Even at thirteen, I knew what she was saying. And I knew that I had chosen to be a coward , to pretend that the issue was about my election , not the broader racism that infused her comment. Similarly, I suspect that you know that the whisperers are using the cover of your middle name and your Indonesian childhood to make a statementabouttherolethatMuslimsshouldplay in America. It is a statement made repeatedly by mainstream figures in the American media, like CNN commentator Glenn Beck. Beck welcomed Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress , on his show with the following challenge: “Sir, prove to me you are not workingwith our enemies .” Senator Obama, you have been courageous and direct on a range of issues—the Iraq war, race, foreignpolicy.Whynotdothesamewiththewhisper campaign? Why not dismiss the question aboutyourfaithinonelineandthenmakeastatement on the real issue: that this is a thinly-veiled attempt to disparage and disenfranchise an entire group of people based on their religion. It is unAmericanbigotry .Period. Oneofthemostattractivepartsofyourcandidacyisyoureloquenceaboutidentity. “Iwasengagedinafitful,interiorstruggle ,”youwriteinDreamsfromMyFather. “IwastryingtoraisemyselfasablackmaninAmerica,andbeyond thegivenofmyappearance,noonearoundmeseemedtoknowexactlywhatthatmeant.” ThereisagenerationofyoungMuslimscomingofageinAmericawhoexperienceasimilarstruggle.Theyhearfrom too many Americans that Muslims can never be true citizens, their loyalties will always be elsewhere. They hear from sometwistedvoicesintheMuslimworldthatlivinginAmericamakesthemlessMuslim.Theyareatthecrossroadsof anidentitycrisis,tryingtolookbothwaysatonce. Thereasonsomanypeopleseethemselvesinyouisbecauseofyoureloquentstoryofreconcilingyourownmultiple identities:blackandwhite,KenyaandKansas,communityorganizerandcorporatelawyer.Thatprocessisnotjustthe struggle of individuals, it is at the heart of the American journey as well. Our challenge has always been to make the multipleidentitiesofthisnationmutuallyenrichinginsteadofmutuallyexclusive. I cannot pretend to know anything about the challenges of presidential campaigns. My experiment with electoral politicsendedprettymuchwithmydefeatforclassrepresentativein7thgrade. But I do know this. “Hussein” is not the only part of your name that has Muslim roots. “Barack” is a derivation of a commonlyusedwordinIslamicArabic:baraka.ItisalsoassociatedwiththeHebrewterm,barukh.Inbothlanguages, it means “blessing.” And that is the only way to describe how millions of people feel about you, Senator Obama—that youareablessinguntothem...

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