n the last few decades of
20th century and into this
21st century, American
presidents have tried to
stem the anti-Muslim tide
that believers in the right to free-
dom of religion fear is gripping
this country and defeating the
vision of the original founders of
the nation. To a man, every pres-
ident all the way back to the cre-
ation of this nation and
founders before that, has fought
with words for Muslims to be
able to practice their faith in this
country.
The latest was President
Obama in his speech Feb. 3, at
the Islamic Society of Baltimore,
where he pointed to those
framers of the Constitution to
make his case against
Islamophobia, which Muslims,
Sikhs and other communities
say is growing especially over
the last few months following
the terrorist attacks in Paris,
France and more recently, San
Bernardino, California.
His concern is not new.
Shortly after 9/11 and the back-
lash against Muslims in the
country, a backlash most vio-
lently felt by Indian-American
Sikhs sporting turbans and
beards, the Library of Congress
came out with a study exploring
this historical relationship
between Islam and the creation
of the United States of America.
It noted how influential framers
of the Constitution, were for reli-
gious freedom that included
equal rights for Muslims, Jews,
and Hindus.
Founding Fathers
Entitled “The Founding
Fathers and Islam: Library
Papers Show Early Tolerance for
Muslim Faith,” the study notes
thousands of slaves of Islamic
faith may have been brought
into the country in the course of
the slave trade from Africa. Even
though founders may have not
known that, “ it is clear that the
Founding Fathers thought about
the relationship of Islam to the
new nation and were prepared
to make a place for it in the
republic,” the study concludes.
The main framer of the U.S.
Constitution and later president,
Thomas Jefferson, following on
the heels of his idol, English
philosopher and political
thinker John Locke, demanded
recognition of the religious
rights of the “Mahamdan,” the
Jew and the “pagan.” Jefferson
was supported by his ally,
Virginia statesman Richard
Henry Lee, who in 1776, called
for American colonies to declare
independence from Britain and
said, “True freedom embraces
the Mahomitan and the
Ghentoo (Hindu) as well as the
Christian religion.” Two hundred
and twenty three years later, in
2007, the first Muslim to be
sworn into the U.S. Congress,
Democrat Keith Ellison of
Minnesota, demanded and was
sworn in on Jefferson’s copy of
the Koran.
President George
Washington, the first to lead this
nation, looked for ways Muslims
could be fairly taxed and
declared he would welcome
“Mohometans” to Mount
Vernon (his home) if they were
“good workmen.”
By no means was the nation
universally welcoming of
Muslims, with ordinary popu-
lace differing radically over what
Islammeant and propagated,
the Library of Congress study
shows. But, “The Founders of
this nation explicitly included
Islam in their vision of the future
of the republic,” it says. “Far
from fearing Islam, the
Founders would have incorpo-
rated it into the fabric of
American life,” the study con-
tends.
Matters Foreign & Domestic
The U.S. has been dealing
with Islam on the foreign policy
front since early in its birth as a
nation. On Nov. 4, 1796,
President John Adams, authored
Article 11, in the U.S. treaty with
Tripoli on “Harmony Despite
Religious Differences,” which
said, “As the government of the
United States of America is not
in any sense founded on the
Christian Religion,-as it has in
itself no character of enmity
against the laws, religion or tran-
quility of Musselmen,-and as the
said States never have entered
into any war or act of hostility
against any Mehomitan nation,
it is declared by the parties that
no pretext arising from religious
opinions shall ever produce an
interruption of the harmony
existing between the two coun-
tries.” Quotes on Islam by vari-
ous presidents were put together
by Geoegetown University’s
Berkley Center for Religion,
Peace andWorld Affairs.
Enter, The 20th Century
President George Herbert
Walker Bush, was confronted in
a question-and-answer session
with Arab-American groups
Sept. 24, 1990, at theWhite
House, on the issue of discrimi-
nation against Muslims in the
wake of U.S. engagement in the
First GulfWar, against Saddam
Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait.
“Today, some Americans are
the victims of appalling acts of
hatred. This is a sad irony that
while our brave soldiers fight
aggression overseas, a few hate-
mongers here at home are per-
petrating their own brand of
cowardly aggression,” including
death threats, physical attacks,
vandalism, religious violence,
and discrimination against
Arab-Americans, he said adding
it had no place in a free society.
“I condemn such acts, and I
will continue to condemn
them,” the senior Bush said,
noting that his administration
had supported enactment of
“Hate Crimes” legislation,
“because bigotry and hate still
exist in this country. Hate breeds
violence, threatening the securi-
ty of our entire society.
As I said when I signed the
bill, all Americans must join
together to rid our communities
of the poison of prejudice, bias,
and discrimination.” Like
Christians and Jews, millions of
Muslims were free to worship
according to their traditions.
“Surely,
the multinational troops --
men and women of every reli-
gion and color -- who are now
on duty in the glare of the desert
sun, are an example to us right
here at home. They prove that a
crisis abroad is no excuse for
discrimination at home.”
On March 8, 1991, during an
interview with Middle Eastern
journalists, the senior Bush
spoke of the “shared values” of
America and Islam. Admitting
he was not a student of religion,
he said, “but I don’t find any-
thing in what the principal
teachings of Islam that put us in
contradiction at all.” The princi-
ples are the same, “... it’s kind-
ness, it’s be good to your neigh-
bor, it’s love, and it’s take care of
children. It’s all these things
that—so there’s no anti-Islam,”
he added.
Response To Terror Attacks
President Bill Clinton’s term
saw frequent attacks by terror
groups proclaiming Islamic
leanings, on theWorld Trade
Center in 1993, and on
American outposts in 1998.
Clinton gave the seminal speech
decrying the claims of a “Clash
of Civilizations,” during a media
interview Nov. 14, 2000, less
than a year before 9/11.
“I have never bought the the-
sis—on an inevitable collision
course with the Islamic soci-
eties, or that the 21st century
had to be dominated by terror-
ists with highly sophisticated
weapons, fueled by broad popu-
lar resentment from people who
are both disenfranchised and
poor. I don’t think it has to be
that way, and I think if we could
really make a big dent in this
problem, it would give confi-
dence to the forces of reason
and progress throughout the
region.”
Prescient words, even if dis-
proved by America’s involve-
ment and intervention in the
Middle East.
Fastest Growing Religion
Just 3 months after terror
attacks on U.S. embassies in
Tanzania and Kenya Aug. 7,
1998, Clinton extended “warm
greetings” to the “six million
Americans” of the Islamic faith
on Dec. 18, noting Islam was
“one of our nation’s fastest-
growing religions,” and urged
that “It is time ... for recognizing
our common humanity.”
Barely 7 months into his pres-
idency, GeorgeW. Bush and the
nation suffered the worst terror
attack on 9/11.
Just days later on Sept. 17,
Bush, in an attempt to stem hate
crimes, the first being the assas-
sination of Balbir Singh Sodhi in
Arizona on Sept. 15, came out in
defense of Islam.
“These acts of violence
against innocents violate the
fundamental tenets of the
Islamic faith. And it’s important
for my fellow Americans to
understand that,” he said.
“The face of terror is not the
true faith of Islam. That’s not
what Islam is all about. Islam is
peace. These terrorists don’t rep-
resent peace. They represent evil
and war. When we think of Islam
we think of a faith that brings
comfort to a billion people
around the world. Billions of
people find comfort and solace
and peace. And that’s made
brothers and sisters out of every
race –out of every race,” George
W. Bush said. He repeated his
belief that Islam preaches peace
and that the Muslim faith is a
peaceful faith in subsequent
days, asserting Muslims loved
America and saluted its flag just
like he did.
“There are thousands of
Muslims who proudly call them-
selves Americans, and they
know what I know –that the
Muslim faith is based upon
peace and love and compassion.
The exact opposite of the teach-
ings of the al Qaeda organiza-
tion, which is based upon evil
and hate and destruction”
GeorgeW. Bush added. “The ter-
rorists are traitors to their own
faith, trying, in effect, to hijack
Islam itself. The enemy of
America is not our many
Muslim friends. It is not our
many Arab friends. Our enemy
is a radical network of terrorists
and every government that sup-
ports them.”
I
Islam
And The
American
Presidency
Cover Story
– that’s all you need to know
Unbeknownst to the ordinary citizen, the
American presidency has engaged with
and defended Islam since this nation’s
inception and even before when some
framers of the Constitution called for
religious freedom not just for Christians
but also for the “Mahamdan” and
“Ghentoo” (Hindu),
Ela Dutt
reports
7
News India Times February 12, 2016
