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What if he was a Muslim?

newyorker.com — The photograph Colin Powell referred to when making his endorsement of Barrack Obama for president. Elsheba Khan at the grave of her son, Specialist Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan.

Who dugg this? Made popular Oct 20, 2008

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  • Hetman, on 10/20/2008, -26/+612What if he was an athiests? He would not be elected to run for president.
    What if he was agnostic? He would not be elected to run for president.
    What if Hindu? He would not be elected to run for president.
    What if he was Jewish? He would not be elecected to run for president.
    What if he was a Scientologists? He would not be elected to run for president.
    What if he was a Buddist? He would not be elected to run for president.
    What if he was a muslim? He would not be elected to run for president.
    What if he was Gay? He would not be elected to run for president.
    I am just saying the chances of a non-christian being elected president in the U.S. is slim to none.
  • history1me, on 10/20/2008, -11/+544Patriotism has no faith, age,gender nor color. Anyone willing to fight and ultimately die for what he believes is a hero to those with the same patriotism.
  • meridianknight, on 10/20/2008, -8/+443These are the pertinent excerpts from Powell's Meet the Press appearance:

    I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is?"

    "I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions."

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27266223/
  • maidaa, on 10/19/2008, -14/+448Thanks! A telling picture.

    ¢
  • inactive, on 10/20/2008, -10/+330Thank you Colin Powell for making an honest attempt to remind America that there's nothing wrong with being a Muslim.
  • inactive, on 10/20/2008, -18/+323this picture doesn't just says a thousand words... its says a million
  • inactive, on 10/20/2008, -4/+259I take off my hat to General Powell for saying what if?
  • GrandmaSheila, on 10/19/2008, -43/+295Every time you hear them slandering our honest Moslem citizens, or Moslems anywhere, think of Kareem, and get angry.
  • arcangelgabriel, on 10/20/2008, -22/+223Rest in peace my fallen brother. May flights of angels guide you home.

    Semper Fi.
  • dshPls, on 10/20/2008, -12/+206"All Americans must recognize that the face of terror is not the true faith -- face of Islam. Islam is a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. It's a faith that has made brothers and sisters of every race. It's a faith based upon love, not hate."

    - President Bush,
    September 10th, 2002

    Quotes like this silence the rightwing idiots who claim all Muslims are evil, and the leftwing idiots claiming "omg bush invaded irag 2 kill mulsimz!"
  • FallenTurtles, on 10/20/2008, -12/+187No.

    It doesn't matter what religion the President has so long as he/she makes decisions based on the nation's best interests and NOT the best interests of his/her personal religion. Stop making it sound like a religious individual can't be as effective as a nonreligious one.
  • plainOldFool, on 10/20/2008, -1/+171Aside from Kennedy, Catholics haven't had much luck either.
  • hamobu, on 10/20/2008, -1/+166Funny how some Muslim woman in Sweden who makes crazy threats against cartoonist can get 15 minutes on CNN, and people like Specialist Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan not even a whisper.
  • Heapbasket, on 10/20/2008, -3/+161Here is my take on it; I don't care if he is Muslim or Christian. What I do care about is what his morals & ethics are. I would also like to point out that not every Muslim is an extremist just like not every white person is racist; the list could go on.
  • chanop, on 10/20/2008, -0/+133A soldier from a town over from me was killed last month by an I.E.D. He was born and raised in America. I read people attack muslim's on our local website all the time. It shut them all up when it was reported that this soldier that died for America was a proud Muslim. People think all Muslims are the enemy.
  • inactive, on 10/20/2008, -6/+125Thank God General Powell finally said something that desperately needed to be said. This picture does illustrate his point perfectly. God Bless all our men and women of service regardless of their faith!
  • safetysealed, on 10/20/2008, -9/+121moslem is a perfectly accepted alternate spelling.
  • Trublmakr, on 10/20/2008, -13/+116He is,.. but even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.
  • dshPls, on 10/20/2008, -0/+92People destroyed my local Indian churches taxi cabs after 9/11 in revolt, when the people were actually Sikh. It was ridiculous, no one was even a Muslim, but the idiots behind it didn't know any better.
  • ajamer, on 10/20/2008, -6/+91Joe Lieberman, a Jew, was pretty damn close to being vice president

    thank goodness he'll never become president. he's gone all crazy
  • PatoLucas, on 10/20/2008, -6/+88"what kind of ***** dicks would digg this down?"
    12 years old kids without a clear grasp of reality or human sympathy. You may oppose to the war, but that doesn't mean you should oppose to the brave men who are fighting and dying there
  • EatingPie, on 10/20/2008, -21/+100I agree with Powell, it absolutely does NOT matter if Obama was a Muslim or not. ANYONE, regardless of race, color or creed can run for President. Isn't that what the US is all about? ANYONE can run for President.

    On the flip-side, how many digg articles ran attacking Palin for her Christian beliefs? And how many ran saying "Obama is not a Muslim"? It took singular wisdom to ask the more important, underlying question of "what if?" -- or in other words, "so what?" This is America, the country where our parents told us, "you might be President some day!"

    -Pie
  • IphtashuFitz, on 10/20/2008, -1/+76I heard a report on the radio this morning about this photo. He was a 14-year-old on 9/11 and couldn't wait until he was old enough to enlist and go fight for his country. He died fighting for us in Afghanistan. He was Muslim.

    As a protestant living in the US I simply say thank you to Specialist Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan for your sacrifice. I am proud to have a Muslim like him stand up and serve our country. I am proud to be able to call him a fellow countryman.
  • Depthfunction, on 10/20/2008, -15/+86If Obama were a muslim, that would only make me want to vote for him more.

    BTW, today I did cast my vote, and yes, I voted for Barack Hussein Obama, the next president of the United States. Suck on that, rightards!
  • relaxeder, on 04/17/2009, -8/+75That "ay-rab" did a more pro-American thing than probably 95% of the xenophobic obese ***** standing in those McCain/Palin rally lines have ever done in their lives.
  • FeargusMcDuff, on 10/20/2008, -1/+67"Interwebs" is the preferred spelling If i'm not mistaken.
  • waxoff, on 10/20/2008, -3/+69B.S. Religion does not need to be eradicated. Extremism does. People should be free to think/believe what ever they hell they want, as long as they do not impose those beliefs on others.
  • xRand0mx, on 10/20/2008, -0/+66Such a powerful statement.

    It is a shame that Powell will never run for office. He would make a great president.
  • anotherjack, on 10/20/2008, -3/+68Since it's not an English word, it has several spellings - and you should see how the Chinese spell it. Also, it's usually a mistake to criticize spelling on teh intarwebz. .
  • lettruthout, on 10/20/2008, -5/+66Nor does it have a country. It's a mechanism used by those wanting power. No matter what your opinion about whether it's currently being used in this country for good or not, you have to agree that all sides use this in conflict.
  • snotrokit, on 10/20/2008, -1/+61Thank you Colin Powell for saying what a lot of us have said or thought, but could not get that voice past those within earshot. I have said this to several people, notably those who refer to Obama as Barack Hussain Obama. I immediately put them on the spot with a line of questioning that does end with exactly that, what if he was a Muslim. So what?

    Bravo sir, Bravo. This veteran stands and salutes you, and by God, will fight for you any time, any where, any place.
  • strOphe, on 10/20/2008, -5/+64As a Christian, I can safely say that faith does not have a monopoly on patriotism or sacrifice. Powell is absolutely correct, and the damning thing about accusing of Obama being a Muslim, despite its inaccuracy, is that it correctly highlights a xenophobic tendency in this country, a dangerous problem this current administration has bolstered and the McCain campaign has attempted to profit on.
  • inactive, on 10/20/2008, -1/+60intarwebz is a perfectly accepted alternate spelling.
  • paintgrl, on 10/20/2008, -5/+60Fantastic photos. Anyone who gives their life for our country is an American hero. In America there is no one look or religion that says American.
  • ErickStevenson, on 10/20/2008, -1/+56Yes sucks really, people from all race/background/religion have died in the war for their country that still has many bigots. So what if you are muslim or any non-Christian? Does that make you less of an American? People don't remember that America was made up of immigrants and was built by immigrants of all cultures. These people are the ones that are truly un-American.
  • toptopics, on 10/20/2008, -9/+64Can any of you Mccain palin supporters look this woman directly in the eye? TELL ME!!
  • StrangeFamous, on 10/20/2008, -1/+50President who makes decisions based on religious interpretations < President who makes decisions based on information, experience and advice from the international community
  • treehugger87, on 10/20/2008, -0/+48And all people named Jack Warren who post on Digg under the name CorneliusStump are white, cracker, racist morons.
  • ajamer, on 10/20/2008, -0/+46The only non-protestant president was shot
  • sousademiami, on 10/20/2008, -7/+52He invaded Iraq for revenge and oil.

    He's not a racist.
  • joshua850, on 10/20/2008, -4/+46McCain cannot even look Obama directly in the eye.
  • cyrusuncc, on 10/20/2008, -2/+43Every apple is a fruit, but not all fruits are apples
  • inactive, on 10/20/2008, -3/+44Good luck convincing your garden-variety American, who thinks that rising gas prices are the greatest crisis in the history of time and space.
  • Scrappy1850, on 10/20/2008, -9/+49but i thought bush was a retarded chimp who spouted lies! im sooo confused.
  • Lazerz, on 10/20/2008, -0/+39There are 1.3 billion Muslims.

    I can see how that many terrorists would worry a simple-minded individual like you.
  • boydrew, on 10/20/2008, -0/+38There is a judge in my county who I knew and had a conversation with. He said that we were in a holy war with muslims and that we need to protect our country from muslims because they hate us. Its disconcerting how narrowminded we can be towards beliefs other than our own. Whether it is a Christian hating on a Muslim, a Muslim hating on Christian, or Atheist hating on a Christian. Its all wrong.
  • bsmang, on 10/20/2008, -8/+45Obama is certainly a Christian, but that's no better or worse than being a Muslim. They're just two sides of the same coin.
  • sharkd, on 10/20/2008, -3/+39Just two years ago, your list would have included:
    "What if he were Black? He would not be nominated to run for President."

    It may be a slow process, but we're making progress.
  • kenyadoit, on 10/20/2008, -1/+36Yes, it is ridiculous and sad. Ironically, nobody of Irish decent was attacked after the Okahoma City Bombings.
  • StrangeFamous, on 10/20/2008, -0/+32Just remember the thin line between patriotism and nationalism.

    One is good for the health of a country, the other is not.
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