You Won’t Believe How Far Right-Wingers Just Went To Smear Obama
If there has been anything we can count on the conservative propaganda machine to be consistent about, it’s the constant need to reinforce the absurd and endlessly debunked myth that President Obama is in fact a secret Muslim who was born in Kenya.
The lengths to which the right-wing echo machine will go to perpetuate this narrative, which unfortunately has become canon for Tea Partiers and the masses of Republican ignorati around the country, are simply astounding. Take this most recent example, which might be the furthest, most desperate reach to try to prove that Obama is a Muslim.
(Because he may be a secret Muzzlim.) pic.twitter.com/mYCNVXrbev
— Imraan Siddiqi (@imraansiddiqi) May 26, 2016
This particular piece of offensive drivel comes from the hate-rag known as the Daily Caller, which begins their article with a laughably immature attempt to stir up classist hatred against the Obamas for moving to a “fancypants” section of Washington D.C. They then swing right into Islamophobia by noting that his house is 1,096 feet from one of the largest mosques in the nation.
They also make sure to note that his new mansion is also “very close” to the Omani and Iranian embassies. No reason for the focus on Islamic buildings is given. Nor does the article comment on the local availability of churches, synagogues, or Buddhist temples, or whether or not there are embassies of non-Islamic nations nearby. The obvious implication, of course, is that he chose this place because it was close to a mosque, because he’s a secret Muslim, and certainly not because it’s a ten-minute drive from his daughter Sasha’s school.
Bizarrely, the article includes this description of the mosque – “The Islamic Center in our nation’s capital also provides help for families in need, holds wedding ceremonies, organizes language courses, offers counseling and makes available ample research material related to Islam” – just like any other religious building does. A mosque is simply a place of worship and a community center where charitable works are done. They only become hotbeds of radicalization with the wrong people leading it – just like any Christian church that Ted Cruz steps in to does.
It is immensely frustrating that after all these years and all the good that President Obama has done for this country, he still must endure this constant barrage of racist and Islamophobic attacks from shameless hacks like this Eric Owens, who laughably calls himself the “education editor” at a vitriolic agitation propaganda tabloid that reads like a mix of Pravda and the maniacal delusions inside the mind of Ann Coulter with a dash of US Weekly-trashy thrown in for good measure.
This nonsense of course is good fodder for ironic, if exasperated, jokes:
BREAKING: “Obama’s fancy new mansion is within delivery radius for Kabob Palace.”
— Imraan Siddiqi (@imraansiddiqi) May 26, 2016
— Imraan Siddiqi (@imraansiddiqi) May 26, 2016
The Daily Caller has not yet reported if President Obama’s new cable package includes Al-Jazeera.
Tweets courtesy of Imraan Siddiqi, a writer, activist, and executive director of Arizona’s Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Follow him on Twitter.
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