{"id":197,"date":"2012-02-02T16:20:14","date_gmt":"2012-02-02T21:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/commonwordcommonlord\/?p=197"},"modified":"2012-02-02T16:20:14","modified_gmt":"2012-02-02T21:20:14","slug":"a-political-fantasy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/a-political-fantasy\/","title":{"rendered":"A Political Fantasy"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I know that, as the weeks and months pass during this year’s presidential campaign, that the issue of President Obama being a “secret Muslim” will come up again and again. It did so not that long ago at a Rick Santorum event <\/a>(I swear I am not picking on Rick Santorum) during the campaign. A woman asked that, since the President was an “avowed Muslim”: “Why isn’t something being done to get him out of the government. He has no legal right to be calling himself president.”<\/p>\n

Rather than correcting her, he sheepishly said: “Yeah, I’m doing my best to try to get him out of the government.”<\/p>\n

Here is my fantasy; a daydream that I have almost on a daily basis:<\/p>\n

At a campaign event somewhere, sometime in America:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Candidate X takes a question from someone at his town hall meeting.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“Yes, sir,” the Candidate says, pointing his finger to the person.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“You know, this President Obama, is a fraud. He never should have been President. He wasn’t even born in this country, and he is an avowed Muslim…”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“Uh, excuse me, sir. Let me stop you right there,” says Candidate X, who suddenly has a very serious look in his eyes. Staring right back at the questioner, the Candidate says:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“First of all, President Obama was born in this country. I think that is clear. And, it is also clear that he is a Christian. He has said it on numerous occasions. But, more importantly, what if he was a Muslim? So what! Does being Muslim somehow disqualify someone from running for public office? From being an American?”<\/em><\/p>\n

Several people in the crowd yell “Yes!”<\/em><\/p>\n

Candidate X chimes in sternly: “The answer is no, folks. This is America. We are nation that believes in freedom of religion, the freedom to worship or not worship whatever you want. It is one of the things that makes this country as beautiful as it is. And if an American who happens to be a Muslim runs for public office, there is nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong at all.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Sigh. What a wonderful thing…if it were to ever come to pass. But, I’m not holding my breath…and I’m a lung doctor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Hassaballa","description":"Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago doctor and writer. He has written extensively on a freelance basis, being published in newspapers across the country and around the world. He has been a Beliefnet columnist since 2001, and has written for the Religion News Service. He is also a columnist for Patheos. His articles have been distributed worldwide by Agence Global, and he was also a guest blogger for The Chicago Tribune and has blogged on ChicagoNow\" . In addition, Dr. Hassaballa has appeared as a guest on WTTW (Channel 11) in Chicago, CNN, Fox News, BBC, and National Public Radio. Dr. Hassaballa is co-author of The Beliefnet Guide to Islam (Doubleday), and his essay, \u201cWhy I Love the Ten Commandments,\u201d was published in the award-winning book Taking Back Islam (Rodale). His latest book, Noble Brother, is the story of the Prophet Muhammad told entirely in poetry, and it is now published in its second edition. In 2007, his blog \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" was nominated for a Brass Crescent Award for a blog that is \u201cthe most stimulating, insightful, and philosophical, providing the best rebuttals to extremist ideology and making an impact whenever they post.\u201d \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" has also received an award for being one of the \"Top Muslim Blogs for 2010\" by Awarding The Web. In addition to writing, Dr. Hassaballa helped found the Chicago Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and currently serves on their board of directors. He also co-founded the Bayan H. 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