Generation You: Religion

With Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration right around the corner, Minority Dreams asked students, activists, leaders and educators about his full name and the rise of Islamophobia.

Q: How do you feel about Barack Hussein Obama using his full name during the inauguration speech on Jan. 20, 2009?

“Barack Obama’s inauguration will be a undercover test of character. True, his middle name has Islamic origins, but it does not necessarily mean he is Muslim – a label which many of he peers would consider to be political suicide. I think he should use his middle name. Why should he hide part of his name? He should be true to his name and identity – a black man, whose FATHER was Muslim, who will be the next President of the United States of America.” – Aysha Mohsin, law student at University of Southern California

“If he hides “Hussein” people will manipulate it and interpret it the way they want to. It’s better if he holds his name and explains it himself. I don’t think he identifies himself as being Muslim, so I don’t think he’s appealing to Muslim Americans or Muslims in general.” – Noor Higley, activist, Washington DC

“I think he should use his full name. We should all be proud of our names and Mr. Obama should be proud of his. Our names give us some insight on what our ethnic or cultural background is. With such a name as his, it has shown how far our country has come in embracing not only people but leaders of diverse backgrounds.” – Curtis Schlaufman, president of Associated Students Inc. at Cal State Fullerton

“I don’t think using Obama’s middle name should be an issue at all. It’s his name, period. The issue of using a middle name wasn’t a subject to debate when Bush or Clinton were inaugurated. I think he should spell it out, loud and proud.” – Rashad Al-dabbagh, Access California Services, Anaheim, Calif.

“I think he should use his full name. All the other presidents that I can remember watching used theirs.” – Anthony Ragazzo, lecturer at Cal State Fullerton

Q: Do you feel there has been a rise in Islamophobia [prejudice against or stereotyping of Muslims] in recent years in America? How & Why?

“Islamophobia is becoming the unsaid norm for much of the country. Living in California we don’t see it as much, nor do we hear it in the media or news reports since much of the incidences go unreported. Being Muslim, Pakistani and a student, I come to hear of attacks on students at universities, professors making discriminating remarks and especially racial profiling by authority figures. I, myself, have fallen prey to racial profiling many times. It has become common, almost expected, for me to be stopped every single time I fly for intense security screening. I suspect my name, Aysha, is the red flag.

The creation of the term “Islamophobia” itself should be an indicator that there has been a rise in incidences so much so that a term needed to be created to categorize these events.  It is true that Islamophobia has been at an increased state for quite some and fluctuates surrounding global events. Depending on the international political climate, people tend to be more outspoken and become more Islamophobic. In my opinion Islamophobia is becoming more and more common and almost accepted.

When you travel outside California [and] see what the rest of the nation thinks of Islam, Muslims, the war and the East, you would be shocked. Muslims need to work to help others understand Islam and combat the stereotypes rather than ignoring ignorant remarks.” – Aysha

“Yes. It’s hard to measure Islamophobia, but there have been campaigns designed to make Islam and Muslims look bad, such as the Islamo-fascism campaigns that toured campuses. In terms of foreign policy, the U.S. has occupied Muslim countries for oil in the name of spreading democracy. U.S. foreign policy requires the dehumanization of Muslims to justify the war. The people have not protested the Iraq war as much as they did when America was in Vietnam.

Both Americans and Muslim Americans must take action. Have a campaign that educates the public and our representatives in Congress about the situation, how racism can take different shapes and forms.” – Noor

“I do feel that there has been a rise in Islamophobia, mostly because of the attacks on September 11th. Unfortunatly the majority of people don’t quite understand Islam or it’s ideals and values. People fear what they don’t understand and to get over that obstacle we must all be educated.

It’s a matter of interacting with people who have roots in Islam and learning about different religions in school. The more the public is educated the less fear there is.” - Curtis