The “Sorry, it Wasn’t Really Obama” Obama letter
Many Muslims have been receiving a letter by email, supposedly written by Senator Obama, entitled “Letter From Barack Obama on his Muslim Heritage.” In the letter, the writer speaks to the meaning and significance of his Muslim name, his interaction with and respect for Muslims, and a promise to interact with Muslims “from a position of familiarity and respect [at a time when] that is something sorely needed.” The general tone is one of comforting reassurance, a kind of “I don’t hate Muslims, I actually respect them, and I’d like to work with them as friends.”
Muslims were understandably excited upon receiving this letter; it caused quite a stir. Finally, someone who and respects us and understand what we’re going through! Maybe he will be the kind of President we can trust with our lives, liberties, and mutual honor. Maybe this time, we won’t feel betrayed, like strangers in our own homes. Go Obama!
Except, Obama didn’t write this letter. Umar Lee did.
Brother Lee wrote this letter as a satire, expressing sentiments he wished that Senator Obama would vocalize with regard to the Muslim community. He posted it on his blog with a disclaimer stating that it was a satire and that Obama did not write it. The letter was copied and emailed around to thousands of people. Perhaps these emails did originally contain the disclaimer, but it soon disappeared and became thought of as a true letter from Senator Obama. [an abbreviated version of the letter is at the end of this post]
I’m disappointed. I’m glad that Brother Lee is at least thinking and posting commentary about the candidates (which is more than a lot of people do), but I think he should have foreseen that people would forward out this letter and that eventually it would lose his disclaimer. It’s like a huge game of Telephone, except it’s especially bad for people who seriously want to hear a message like this from a politician. A lot of people, unfortunately, have a tendency to believe things they get over email and then forward them out to all of their friends. If these issues didn’t cross his mind, I guess I can’t blame him for it. But I think, with a little bit of thought, Brother Lee could have realized that this was a risky move. Since I started writing this blog post, he has removed both the original letter and his correction/clarification from his blog.
Why am I making such a big deal about this? Because it’s unfair, for two reasons. Firstly, it is unfair to Senator Barack Obama that this letter is being circulated in his name. There will be many Muslims who do not find out that this is a fake letter and they will vote for Obama because of it. If he becomes President, they will expect him to follow through with the promises and values expressed in this letter. He did not write it, so he should not be expected to uphold those promises as if he had truly made them. Secondly, it is unfair to the Muslims who will see this letter and have high hopes that there finally exists an elected official who will treat them with true respect and kindness, instead of something laced with suspicion. Since this has been coming to Muslims directly in their inboxes from so many sources, it has a bigger impact than just something they hear in the news.
At the same time, the rapid and widespread popularity of letter brings up another lesson. Muslim constituents *want* to hear a message like this. It’s a little disheartening and embarrassing when a man running for office has to try so ard to convince people that he is not Muslim and has no ties with Muslims. Are we really that bad? You can see this desire in the letter’s last sentences. “This is what I will bring to the office of the Presidency of the United States. I will deal with Muslims from a position of familiarity and respect and at this time in the history of our nation that is something sorely needed.”
Would it be so hard for Senator Obama to make a statement like this? To openly say that, even though he is not Muslim, he respects Muslims and sees them as valuable members of society. Instead of running hard in the other direction, away from any connection with Islam, making such a statement would win him hoards of Muslim constituents all over the country.
So, in the end, Brother Lee raised an important issue, even if not in the wisest of manners.
For all my Muslim brothers and sisters - please tell as many people as you know that this letter is not real, but please continue to be involved in such important political issues. Muslims can have an impact on elections, local and national, so it’s essential that we become educated and vote. On first glance, Obama looks like the best person for the job, but may whoever becomes president be one who will make clear-headed decisions for the benefit of all.
click below for the abbreviated letter
FAKE Letter from Barack Obama on His Muslim Heritage
[Note: I've abbreviated this because I don't want it to be picked up from here and forwarded out again. Leave a comment if you want the whole letter and I'll email it to you]
There has been a lot made in the recent weeks about the Muslim history of my family. Some of the things that have been said are true, others are false, so I am writing this letter to clear up the misunderstandings on this issue.
Yes, it is true that I have a name that is common amongst Kenyan Muslims where my father came from and that my middle name is Hussein. Baraka is a name which means ‘blessing’ and Hussein is a masculine form of the word beauty. [...]. [It] is the strength and beauty of America that the son of an African man with a ‘funny sounding’ name,[...] can now be a serious candidate for the presidency[..].
My father was a Muslim and although I did not know him well the religion of my father and his family was always something I had an interest in. [...] As a small child, I lived in Indonesia and attended school alongside Muslim pupils. I saw their parents dutifully observing the daily prayers, the mothers covered in the Muslim hijab, [...]
[Explains that he grew up hearing Islamic teachings like..] ‘no one truly believes until he wants for his brother what he wants for himself’, ‘oppression is worse than slaughter’, and ‘all humans are equal the only difference comes from our deeds’.
Growing up in Hawaii with my mother and her grandparents Islam largely escaped my mind. My mother installed in me the values of humanism and I did not grow-up in a home were religion was taught. [...]while I attended college [..] I became reacquainted with Muslims [..] [I learned] from them and to me Muslims are not to be looked upon as something strange. [...]
After college I settled in my adopted hometown of Chicago [which] has one of the largest Muslim populations in America (estimated to be around 300,000) and Muslims make-up some of the most productive citizens in the area. I met countless numbers of Muslims in my job as an organizer and later on in my early political career. I ate in their homes, played with their kids, and looked at them as friends and peers and sought their advice.
Therefore, when the tragic terrorist attacks of 9-11 occurred I was deeply saddened with the rest of America [...] but I did not blame all Muslims or the religion of Islam. From my experience I knew the good character of most Muslims and the value that they bring to America. Many, who did not personally know Muslims, indicted the entire religion for the bad actions of a few; my experience taught me that this was something foolish and unwise.
Later I had the chance to visit the homeland of my father and meet Muslim relatives of my family [...] I found that these were people who wanted the same things out of life as people right here in America and worked hard, strive to make a better way for their children, and prayed to God to grant them success.
This is what I will bring to the office of the Presidency of the United States. I will deal with Muslims from a position of familiarity and respect and at this time in the history of our nation that is something sorely needed.
Note again - this letter is fake!
March 4th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Man..i heard about this letter but I never read any of it. This is extremely evocative and answers to every need a Muslim has. The needs to be recognized, appreciated, and supported. Lee clearly understands very thoroughly the Muslim American heartbeat and what it is we want from a candidate. I don’t think his fault was in writing the letter, but in writing it as a letter from Obama. As you can see it was very easy to use Obama because of the life examples that can be used, but he should have made up a fictional candidate with an altered life history.
I suppose to interpret Obama’s life in a positive way towards Muslims is no worse than the negative interpretations that people make towards encouraging voters to fear his Muslim side. But I also wonder if it’s possible to make an objective interpretation of what you see in a candidate, and if you do have hopes or different views, what is the correct way to express those? I really don’t know how one could forsee such a letter being forwarded in an edited fashion…I guess anything you write that is on the internet could be forwarded, so that is something to be kept in mind, but again, should possible abuse of your artistic work scare you to stop from producing it? What if altering to a safer medium ruins your message and doesn’t take advantage of your ability to reach people.
Personally I am also sad that Obama has had to go in such an opposite way from his heritage. What made me an Obama fan was reading his book and learning his life story. I believed that a person with not only such a rich life experience but such a compelling understanding of it that transcended race and religion could not go wrong in leading our country. It seems as if he does get into office he will either stick to not being himself, or if he does pursue the message he displayed in his book then he might be berated by conservatives, and negative public criticism might prevent him from getting work done or getting re-elected.