Presidential candidate Herman Cain: Stupidity from a smart man

Last updated on: May 27, 2011 at 5:55 pm by Guest Contributor

Presidential candidate Herman Cain: Stupidity from a smart man 2011-05-27T17:55:59-04:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The problem, or the symptom?

Not too long ago, Atlanta-based commentator, successful businessman, and potential presidential candidate Herman Cain, was asked whether there was a place for a Muslim appointee in his administration. His response: “No.” He followed with “There is this creeping attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government.”

Cain is no doubt a bright man with a knack for business and politics. But his comments on Islam in America are so obviously ignorant and misguided that it makes you wonder whether Cain actually has any sense at all. You might expect the remainder of this piece to go into the lunacy of Cain’s overtly discriminatory beliefs, or perhaps delve into an explanation of how the fear of Sharia law is about as rational as fearing Jewish elected officials forcing Kosher laws on us all.

It will not. All of these arguments could very well be logically sound and factually accurate, but they are, I argue, irrelevant.

First, it really doesn’t matter, and engaging in this type of argument and discussion with people who hold beliefs like Herman Cain is a waste of time. For one, even responding to such an absurd accusation that Muslims in America want to force Sharia law on everyone dignifies the claim in the first place. Why do we not argue with the disheveled man on the subway who says the world will end tomorrow? Because we recognize the argument to be so devoid of any merit that a response would be both unnecessary and unwarranted.

Second, responding to people like Cain is worthless because they won’t be convinced by what you have to say. If I sat down with Herman Cain tomorrow, no matter what I said, I can promise you his opinion of Islam would not change one bit. Short of me sticking a piece of paper in front of his face that objectively and demonstrably proved him wrong, he would not change his mind. And the problem with a religion that is faith-based and relies on a book with varying interpretations is that I can’t necessarily provide that proof.

So what do we do? How do we convince America that Islam is not a religion of violence? Is there no way for Muslim-Americans to handle people like Herman Cain?

There is one, but it’s not what you would expect. Muslim-Americans joining the PTA, playing Little League baseball, and having a Memorial Day barbeque with their neighbors will do more to improve Islam’s image than anything we can possibly say ever will. It’s about showing, not just telling people, that Muslims in America are much like any other group of people in this country.

Here’s an example I use all the time: In the past two decades there have been six murders and five attempted murders of abortion doctors by anti-abortion organizations. When these anti-abortion organizations commit these reprehensible acts in the name of morality grounded in the Christian faith, there is not a national debate on whether Christianity, as a religion, promotes violence.

Why not?

The reason this occurs is not because we have all read the Bible and know it doesn’t teach that, it is not because we went to an inter-faith panel and learned about the commonalities between Christianity and other faiths, and it is certainly not because we engaged in an argument with someone about it and were convinced out of our position simply because someone told us we were wrong.

The reason we know Christianity doesn’t teach violence is because we all know someone who is Christian. It may be a friend, a neighbor, or a co-worker. And we know that person does not share the sentiment that led some extreme anti-abortion group to murder someone. (To be fair, I know this example is not exactly akin to a concerted movement by Muslim extremists against America, but all that means for us Muslim-Americans is that we need to work even harder to dispel these fears of Islam.)

So we, as Muslim-Americans, should stop trying to fight words with more words. We need to take action. We need to go out there and get to know our neighbors, let our children play with children of other faiths, and show – not just tell – our fellow Americans that we share far more in common than people like Herman Cain would like them to believe.

There is only one place where we should be vocal. Our denouncement of terrorism, terrorists, and any individual or country that harbors these views, harbors terrorists themselves, or funds these terrorist groups. That will get us some common ground with our fellow Americans. The rest of it, needs to come from the actions we take to further invest ourselves in American society.

You see, Herman Cain may never be convinced that Islam is a religion of peace. But if there was ever a way his opinion would change, it would be because a Muslim doctor saved his life, or because his nephew played basketball for a Muslim coach, or it might just be because the political consultant who turned around his lackluster campaign for the White House, happened to be a Muslim.

Khurram Dara is currently authoring “The Crescent Directive: An essay on improving the image of Islam in America.” A Muslim-American from Buffalo, NY, Dara is a graduate of Emory University where he double majored in Political Science and Finance. He will attend Columbia Law School in the fall. This article was originally published at The Religious Left.

Commentary

Previous Post

May 25, 2011

Society: It’s time to take back our civil liberties

Next Post

May 30, 2011 Islamic charities: Building donor confidence through transparency

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2012 Elections 30 Dayd 30 Writers (2017) 30 Days 30 Writers 30 Days 30 Writers (2015) 30 Days 30 Writers (2016) 30 Days 30 Writers (2018) 30 Days 30 Writers 2017 Ali Asadullah Ali Eteraz Alper Bilgili Arthur Richards Asides Asma Uddin Black History Month Briefings Charles Turner Commentary Cyrus McGoldrick Eman H Aly Fatimah Popal Hajj Hajj and Dhul Hijjah Hesham Hassaballa Hisham Hellyer Ibrahim Abusharif Inas Younis Irfan Yusuf Jalal Baig Junaid Afeef Laila Alawa Laila Alwala Mas'ood Cajee Muqtedar Khan Nakia Jackson Newsmakers Parvez Ahmed Podcasts Rabia Chaudry Rafia Zakaria Ramadan Reviews Safiyyah Ally Saud Inam Shahed Amanullah Svend White The Opinionated Oncologist Visions Wajahat Ali Zahed Amanullah Zahir Janmohamed Zainab Khan

Select a Month November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jeremiah Job Moses Solomon