JustASC

Daniel Pipes re-treads the thesis first put forth by Edward Luttwack in the Times, suggesting “Muslims puzzle over Obama’s present religious status” and that “Should Obama become president, differences in Muslim and American views of religious affiliation will create problems.”

Times ombudsman Clark Hoyt did a good job in showing the ways Luttwack’s essay was “incorrect or highly debatable.” But Pipes’ oddly anti-climactic ending suggests even he is not sure what this all adds up to:

In sum, Muslims puzzle over Obama’s present religious status. They resist his self-identification as a Christian while they assume a baby born to a Muslim father and named “Hussein” began life a Muslim. Should Obama become president, differences in Muslim and American views of religious affiliation will create problems.

“Will create problems”? For whom? And will these problems be any different or more severe than any others a president would face from the Muslim world? It’s not as if the mullahs are thrilled that George Bush is United Methodist, or McCain is a Southern Baptist born Episcopalian. Do the mullahs hate apostates any more than they hate infidels?

Since when do we give a flying what the Muslim world thinks about OUR choice for president? Is Pipes suggesting we should appease the Muslim world by picking a president who doesn’t “puzzle” them?

Really, the corollary of Pipes’ argument is that the only candididate who would not “create problems” is a fully practicing Muslim. And G-d, or Allah, forbid, that we create problems with the Muslim world — certainly George Bush made avoiding “problems” with the Muslim world the cornerstone of his presidency. 

(Imagine an essay like this being written when Lieberman was running for vice president. The author would troll for public and press opinion about how the Muslim world might react with “puzzlement” or even fury if  a Jew were a heartbeat from the presidency. Imagine if that same essayist would conclude, ominously, that a Jew on the ticket would “create problems” or that “Al-Qaeda would likely ‘exploit his background.’” The Jewish world would go nuts.)

I can’t imagine Pipes, whose lecture in Livingston next month is titled “Combating the Radical Islamic Enemy,” really worries about puzzling the poor imams. But if that’s not his point, then all you’re left with is a cut and paste catalogue of Muslims who will not accept Obama’s self-definition — as if to suggest that we shouldn’t either. But Pipes wouldn’t stoop that low — would he?

This entry was posted on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 2:33 pm and is filed under JustASC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.