I Lied....

I can't stop! As much as I hate it-- this whole political season is sucking me in. So "one more" thing.

Just wondering. For months now the rumor has been circulating that Obama is Muslim. Everywhere you go, people are either spreading the rumor, "Can't vote for him, he's a Muslim" or denying it "Why don't people know that Obama is NOT a Muslim by now?"

For the record, Obama is not Muslim, but would it really be so awful if he was? What is the evil behind being Muslim? Can we really not vote for someone who is not Christian? Would the country really dissolve with a Muslim as president?

Do we even know what Muslims believe? I am by no means a scholar on religion, but here is what I do know:

*The first "Pillar" of Islam declares there is no god but Allah (God) and Mohammad is His messenger. From this I can deter that they believe in a single deity and his prophet. (Yeah, I know, totally radical-- Christians don't believe anything like this)

*Second Pillar of Islam requires all adherents to pray five times a day. The time of day to pray are at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night fall. Each 'salat' (prayer) is performed facing towards the Kaaba in Makkah. Salat is intended to focus the mind on Allah; it is seen as a personal communication with Allah, expressing gratitude and worship. According to the Qur'an, the benefit of prayer "restrains [one] from shameful and evil deeds".[Qur'an 29:40][4] (Again, I'm not seeing the evil in praying five times a day... in fact, I think a lot of Christians could learn something from this).

*Third Pillar of Islam is the required (of all who are able) giving of alms. It is expected that those who have accumulated wealth will share this with those who have not. In some places where Islam is the religion of the state, this is taken in taxes from the government.

*Fourth Pillar of Islam is the requirement of fasting during the month of Ramadan. Muslims fast from dawn until dusk. During Ramadan, Muslims are also expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam by refraining from violence, anger, envy, greed, lust, harsh language, gossip and to try to get along with each other better than normal. Fasting is prohibited for those who might have health issues such as children, the elderly, diabetics, and woman who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

*Fifth Pillar of Islam states that all Muslims should travel to Mecca at sometime in their life. This is waived if financial issues prevent one from making the journey. Also, women are not required to make the pilgrimage, only males.

So from what I can see, they believe in God, prophets, prayer, fasting, giving of alms, and giving of yourself to achieve a goal. Why would someone who believes in this be a bad president? Are their ideals really that different than those of the Christian world?

Have we stopped to think that we might be raising a generation full of Muslim haters? Last time I checked it was Christians who bombed abortion clinics-- an act of "terrorism." Does that make every Christian a murderer? Or imply that every Christian thinks doctors who perform abortions should be killed? Or that a fringe group of F-LDS polygamists in Texas represents the Latter-day Saints? No. It means that a radical group did something awful. I am in no way ignoring the fact that we were attacked on September 11 by terrorists. But the group that did that horrific thing to our country did not represent the whole of Islam. Just like the Uni-bomber did not represent the whole of America. Every group has a few crazies.

Let's not group the honorable in among them. Let's not defame wonderful Muslims by being appalled that one might *gasp* run for President. Who knows. We might be better off that way.