I'm a Muslim.

QUICK!!!!! Wash me down with soap and lots of it!!!

ugh. I really hate how the Obama campaign has turned the Muslim identity into something that's "shameful." Well, f–k you all. I'm Muslim, brown and damn proud of it!!!!

I'm tired of Muslim being used as a negative term. The fact that Obama is so quick to deny it shows how well the extreme right has done in tarnishing the image of that religion.

first of all, let me say… the ads are killin me. "muslim singles for matrimony"???

on to the topic… yeah, i think obama's people are caught between a rock and a hard place.

some others have made muslim a dirty word, many americans are too lazy and ignorant to think for themselves, let alone read or dig further, so they accept that muslim = terrorist. so the obama camp has to try and disassociate themselves from islam while not adding to the negativity surrounding the religion.

it's like they need to say after each denial, "not that there's anything wrong with that."

Proud Muslim here. I've actually spoken about this topic with several people. Shit, even my grandmother, who isn't Muslim, one time told my mother that "they say Barack is a Muslim!" like it was a bad thing. It then took my mother to tell her that her daughter, 2 grandchildren (a doctor and a lawyer) and son-in-law (college professor) were Muslims as well.

I make it a point to point out that I'm Muslim whenever appropriate, b/c people need to see positive images of Muslims instead of the ones that they see on television. We all aren't packing bombs and plotting to overthrow the country.

Salaams DFP!

Obama is a Christian what is so hard to understand; how many times does the man have to say it? They (racists, conservatives, right wing etc) are trying to label something he is not.

Obama has the right to say that he is not Muslim and by doing so he is not smearing Islam or Muslims. I am Christian and I would take offense if somebody kept on insisting on labeling me a Hindu, Buddhist, Baha’i, Jewish etc. not because I have anything against these regions but because I do not practice them.

Muslims should not be angry with Obama; they should be upset with the group spreading these rumors.

Muslims like "BlkMalePerpective" above will have to slowly change the perception of Muslims in this country. Many of us (especially males) are not perceived as being Muslim because we do not look like the caricature on the cover of the New Yorker. So we have to TELL people that we are Muslim otherwise they likely would not know. That is because most of us quietly go about our business, take care of our families and play by the rules.

Muslims have turned muslim into a smear. They are the ones flying planes into buildings, and terrorizing the world with bombs and religious fanaticism.

Obama should stay as far away as possible from muslims.

"Muslims have turned muslim into a smear. They are the ones flying planes into buildings, and terrorizing the world with bombs and religious fanaticism.

Obama should stay as far away as possible from muslims."

ohhh yeah, racist and ignorant much, solitaire? wake the f–k up and stop being so goddamned ignorant!

You can call me whatever you want, but the facts speak for themselves.

Right, solitiare, thanks for reminding me that my people are terrorists. I'll be sure to strap some dynamite on myself and blow up buildings.

Deaf you should not be upset with Solitaire, her opinion is shared by many in the West.

Look at it this way; Muslims should not just demonstrate their anger when they feel that their religion is being attacked by non Muslims for example when the Dutch newspaper published the cartoons.

Muslims should also demonstrate their anger when terrorism is committed in the name of Islam, which we rarely see.

how soon we forget, many people justified 400+ years of slavery with christianity. 9 out of 10 black people I know are decendants. I know few people who have been killed by a car bomb.

Solitaire you are an idoit, people can be proud of what they are and respectfully understand and deny what they are not. that tact that is used here in, is what helps define a persons charater

Muslims should also demonstrate their anger when terrorism is committed in the name of Islam, which we rarely see.

@ Africa4Ever

I am Muslim and agree 100% that we must speak out forcefully against these loons that claim to speak for us. I do so as often as I can on my site

@slick selebrity

"Solitaire you are an idoit"

Says the person who can't spell.

Another gem:

"I know few people who have been killed by a car bomb."

Perhaps if you lived in Spain or the UK, you might have known a few people killed by bombs. Perhaps if you wrote a cartoon about Allah, you might be marked for death, or if you made a film about islams treatment of women, you might be killed like Theo Van Gogh.

I could go on and on and on….

@Tariq Nelson, good for you - my family lived side by side with Muslims in peace and tolerance. This is way before Wahhabism took over and turned into the Islam we see today.

I believe we can go back to those days, but again it has to start with Muslims. As long terrorism reigns the issue of Palestine/Israel, the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan etc will be ignored. The longer this issue continues to be unresolved the longer western corporations, China and religious fanatics will continue benefit off of the suffering of innocent souls.

Your statement is completely ridiculous, solitaire. By that logic, Obama should stay away from black people since we are more responsible for gang violence. Those facts speak for themselves also.

It seems that the Muslim "slur" is working on the narrowminded.

How is my statement ridiculous?

Is ghetto gang violence responsible for the London/Madrid train bombings, which killed hundreds of people?

What about 9/11??

Did a gang member murder Theo Van Gogh??
Did the gangs threaten to murder that dutch cartoonist?

Your logic is what's utterly ridiculous.

There are many issues swirling around this point. The primary issue, IMO, is the lack of education in regards to the words Muslim, Islam, and Arab. I won't bore you with an etymology lesson.
Obama (fact) is not Muslim or a follower of Islam, BUT there would be nothing wrong with it if he were. Would he be the nominee? probably not, but that isn't the debate. The facts are the debate. Muslims are not ALL terrorists (fact). I don't get what is so hard to believe about the fact that even in Islamic religion there are varying factions. There are varying factions (including violent at times) of Christianity, Judaism, and many other religions. It is our own ignorance that continuously makes this an issue in this campaign. Christians have bombed buildings and killed thousands, Jews the same. Americans bombed an entire town, forcing a nation to surrender. That should not be the guideline to hate any group. There should be hatred for some groups though. But these groups are specific, numbered and their members have specific names. That is to say the guilty are the people we should hate for their crimes. We can no more hate an entire group based on the actions of a few….lest we begin a trend that leads back to ourselves.

Actually Solitare, Michelle's logic makes a lot of sense.

Thanks, chic noir.

It just seems like some people are using the Fox News book of debate and logic.

I bring FACTS, not utter nonsense. There's absolutely nothing to debate.

For people to be ranting about others talking bad about their religions, you people sure represent. I am not Muslim, and after reading this blog and seeing how many people use curse words while defending their beliefs, that makes me want to stay away from your religion. Yes, all religions have the same problem, but I stay clear of people in any religion that is so willing to publicly discrace their religion by outright sinning against their beliefs to defend them.

"I don't think it was the Obama campaign that did that, DFP."

That being said, their previous antics — that whole "hijabis aren't camera friendly" thing — haven't exactly been shining examples of progressiveness.

P.S. I know he apologized.

Solitaire, violent black criminals are just as notorious in the U.S. as Muslim terrorists are. Does that mean that blacks are responsible for the modern-day manifestation of the stigma that follows us as a group?

"her opinion is shared by many in the West"
And DFP has a right to be angry with each and every one of that "many."

WOW, I had no idea how old this post was.