Is it a "slur" to be called a Muslim?

[LBJDemocrat]

A friend of mine is telling me that Obama's campaign referred to accusations of his being Muslim, as "slurs." I wasn't aware of this.

If so, how is it a "slur"? It may be a lie, but calling it a "slur" is an insult to Muslim Americans. What if someone said I had a Jewish mother, and I responded by calling the accusation a "slur"? Would that be acceptable? What would that say about me?

For the record, I support Obama and have supported him since Edwards dropped out of the race.

Here's a link to an article on the subject: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/mar/01/religion.islam

[ingac70]

1. Calling someone something they are not...

to shit stir is a slur.

[LBJDemocrat]

2. Definition of the word

8. a disparaging remark or a slight: quick to take offense at a slur.
9. a blot or stain, as upon reputation: a slur on his good name.

So is it a stain upon one's reputation to be a Muslim? Is this like how during the Vichy regime, French shopkeepers with German-Jewish sounding names would put ads in papers saying, "Feel free to shop at his store. Monsieur Klein is not a Jew"?

Edit: The point is: It doesn't have to be a disparaging remark if he stood up and instead went on the offensive to denounce that sort of crap as denigrating towards Americans who believe in Islam.

[FlaGranny]

7. The word is not a slur -

the slur is in using the word as a lie to frighten the gullible. It's the intent of the word, in other words, not the actual word itself.

[Avalon6]

12. Everyone knows there are at least two things you have to do to become president

1. Not be a muslim
2. Do not say anything bad about Israel

I'm sorry but it's true.

[Exilednight]

25. You cherry picked your definitions ........

Other definitions for slur include -

1. to pass over lightly or without due mention or consideration (often fol. by over)

2. to pronounce (a syllable, word, etc.) indistinctly by combining, reducing, or omitting sounds, as in hurried or careless utterance. Often done by the far right.

3. to cast aspersions on; calumniate; disparage; depreciate. This is the one that fits best.

[tabasco]

30. Newsflash: To many Americans, "Muslim" is a smear.

Especially since 19 Muslim motherfuckers murdered 3000 Americans a few years back.

In American politics, in the year 2008, Muslim is a smear.

I ain't sayin' it's right but that's the way it is.

Deal with it in your own special way but don't try to deny it.

[Clark2008]

34. Except that they were not really Muslim.

Real Muslims don't fly planes into buildings and kill people.

Just as real Christians don't judge.

People can call themselves whatever they want, but the fact is, unless they walk the walk, they aren't the talk.

[TomClash]

36. Especially after going to strip joint and drinking a few nights before

A different kind of muslim?

Hmmm.

[pkz]

3. It is a slur when it is said

Mooooooooz-lem. I was canvassing for Obama and had a woman physically attack me for supporting one.

I told her he was a Christian and then I said "so what's wrong with Muslims? It's just a religion"

In WV they think if you are a Muslim, you are a radical. You know, like the ones that attacked the U.S.

[mckeown1128]

4. Normally it wouldn't be a slur...

but if calling someone a muslim to stir up racial prejudice and to invite xenophobia... then it's a slur. They are using muslim as an undercover word for terrorist. That is what makes it a slur.

[Window]

40. What mckeown1128 said.

[MH1]

5. To call someone a "radical Muslim" could be a slur

It is a slur by implication if they are implying that Obama would undermine the fundamental value system of this country because he subscribes to a radically different value system.

And that is what is implied when someone calls an American politician a "Muslim".

Edit to delete unnecessary and politically incorrect expansion on this thought. I'm not in the mood for the sure-to-ensue discussion right now.

[LBJDemocrat]

13. Edited

The previous poster edited out potentially offensive remarks, so I've edited out my rebuttal.

[WeDidIt]

6. Only if you're not a Muslim

For example, if you called me a "Christian", I would take offense at it and consider it a slur.

[Barack_America]

8. It's intended as one. nt

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

9. In The Way In Which It Was Used, Yes, It Was.

The word Muslim has different definitions too, ya see. Ok, maybe not technically, but rhetorically it absolutely does. You and I might hear muslim and think nothing but benign thoughts. But when used in certain contexts, tones and intentions, saying "muslim" can draw upon powerful imagery of terrorism, hatred and extremism. When it was used in relation to Obama, it was done so with the intention to draw upon THOSE types of imageries to plant in people's minds, in order for them to relate Obama to that which is so disgusting about muslim extremism. It wasn't to just call him an ordinary muslim of which no negatives are drawn upon. It was used specifically with the intent to connect him to radical islam and terrorism. Because that was the intent, tone and rhetorical meaning of 'muslim' in this sense, then it absolutely was a slur.

[yourguide]

17. Nicely stated. n/t

[babylonsister]

10. Ask your friend to provide a link, for starters.

No, it's not a slur per se, but trying to spread false information about someone is wrong.

[LBJDemocrat]

14. Here you go

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/mar/01/religion.islam

[babylonsister]

20. I don't see anywhere in there where Obama called the word 'Muslim'

a slur. In fact, from that article:

Obama says that Muslims are "deserving of respect and dignity".

Yes, his camp corrected the record that he's a Christian, but I don't see where they went further.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

11. The way the Obama campaign responded was insulting, in my family's opinion. nt

[babylonsister]

22. How so? Please elaborate. Because they reiterated he's Christian? nt

[LBJDemocrat]

24. This article explains it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/mar/01/religion.islam

[babylonsister]

26. I read the article.Obama was defending his own religious beliefs.

I don't see how that was insulting to Muslims, even if he didn't go far enough in defending them.

[LBJDemocrat]

27. That's it.

He didn't say, "I'm not a Muslim, but it's not right to denigrate Muslims." Instead, he did what the Polish guy did. That's wrong. Period.

[babylonsister]

28. He's not perfect; he reacted. That's not wrong. And for a supposed

Obama supporter who supposedly got this from a friend, you seem to be protesting a bit too much. What are your motives?

[LBJDemocrat]

31. To find a satisfactory answer

Post number 3 provided it.

[babylonsister]

35. I wouldn't be blaming Obama. The blame should fall solidly

with this admin for making the word 'Muslim' so negative to so many. Obama didn't do that.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

42. Actually, I blamed the HRC campaign for stooping so low. nt

[ProgressiveMuslim]

41. Is it really that hard to understand? The whole thing stunk, from slur to denial. nt

[yourguide]

15. This borders on a fine line.

GWB and co essentially turned an entire country against a religion.

It's never "political extremists" but always "Muslim extremists", it's not "political extremists" but "Islamic extremists", it's never "political radicals" but "Islamic radicals" and the list goes on and on. The Bush administration and many republicans have made it a point to associate religion with every act of political terrorism to give some sort of identity and phoney reasoning to those who wish to harm us and polarize the American people not based on politics but based on religion.

The terrorist acts against this nation are based on our politics, not our religion, this is a particularly convenient and disgusting way to rally the American people against a nation or nations (in which the primary religion is Islam) instead of small factions of people or individuals...I firmly believe it was part of their strategy to get us into war with Iraq and in trying to drum up a phony war in Iran.

So no, it's not a slur per say, but in the context of the way "Muslim" or "Islamic" is used by our government in propagating hate, fear, and division it is indeed a slur to many people within this country.

[vaberella]

16. Thank you for mentioning this because I have a bone to pick. But no he didn't mention this...

I don't know if I believe you ARE a supporter, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I say that because Obama has said nothing of the sort, and those following the campaign can verify. However, his campaign eluded to the picture of him in garb on a visit to Western Asia (misnomered, Middle East) was being used on a raciality front by the Clinton Camp, which it was if you're familiar with the whole assanine statement by Clinton, "As far as I know..."<---when she'd attended mass with him.

Fine that being said. I'm fuckin' sick of the media, the supporters, and some bloggers as turning Islam into a pariah. They are establishing this fear-mongering tactic in order to pit one camp against another and in effect demonize Obama as some sort of unpatriotic bastard who hates the American people and want them dead, and also wants the end of Israel. Please!!!

This is something I was hoping Obama would have addressed and been a bit more decisive on when it came to the whole TUCC/Wright scandal. Anyone who did their homework on the church and studied it would realize that Rev. Wright was a stout supporter of the state of Israel. He and many of his colleagues are Rabbi's. Go figure!!! TUCC is extremely and has been for decades supportive of Israel and Gay/lesbian rights.


As a matter of fact, it's probably the FIRST and really only church that actively fights for Gay and Lesbian rights. The amount of progressive acts and good this church has done in it's history is unbelievable. Yet, it has been demonized...and they have WHITE parishoners, by the media as something racist and hatefilled. Rev. Wright may have his own ideas, but there are many people can think along those lines if we remember American history such as disease filled blankets to American Indians, Eugenics of Miniority women that went as far as the supreme court, Slavery--and genocidal tactics, and let me not forget Tuskegee Experiment; and even Interment camps had a dark side. I don't agree with a lot of Rev. Wrigth said, but our history does make you go "Hm...."

Anyway, what I noticed about this campaign is the demonization of Islam and Muslim people. Why is he evil if he was Muslim? But you noticed most of America thinks he is Muslim and probably terrorists and right wing media is promoting these things because he believes in "sit-down" diplomacy than "bombing" diplomacy.

It's like no one has ever heard the term, " You can more flies with honey than with salt" or some thing like that. Anyway I'm disgusted how this has been used by the media and as a final statement, no Obama has never said as such about Islam.

[Peacetrain]

18. Quite simply it is...because he is a Christian

just like calling a Muslim a Christian would be a slur.. having so little respect for that persons belief system, by basically calling them a liar, when they state this is my belief system is a slur on that persons integrity..

[sufrommich]

19. It is a "slur" here in America...

to label our candidate as such.Anyone who doesn't understand that is being naive.Whether is fair or not is irrelevant.

[jobycom]

21. It's in the way you say it, I guess.

Growing up in Mississippi, I heard a lot of people say there was nothing wrong with the N word, because it was just a description, and black people shouldn't feel insulted to be called what they were (ie, black). The N word is just corruption of the Latin word for black, after all.

That argument was ridiculous, because the tone and meaning of the word went beyond its historical descriptive term. It was meant to not only insult the individual who was being called that, but also the entire group that the term identified, by implying it was bad to be a part of that group. The same is true of most group insults, referring to gender, sexual orientation, even partisan ideology.

Those who are calling Obama a Muslim to insult him, to imply that as a Muslim he might be a radical terrorist or anti-American or whatever little fantasies they have in their little minds are not just mischaracterizing Obama, they are doing so in a way that insults all Muslims, by assuming negative stereotypes of them. To me, that makes the insult a slur, not really to Obama, who isn't a Muslim, but to all Muslims who are mischaracterized in a negative way.

So it doesn't have to be a slur, but the way they are using it, it is the same thing as a slur. Which makes it a slur.

And for the record, I don't like Obama, I do like Islam, and I would probably like Obama more if he were a Muslim, so I don't have a lot of bias towards defending the big O. He probably should stop refering to it as a slur if he is doing so, just to avoid any possibility of insulting Muslims--of whom there are a lot of in America. But I know he's not trying to insult anyone, only to fight off a slander about himself.

[dansolo]

23. It's not a slur if he was one

Just like calling a moderate politician a "liberal". The word "liberal" is not a slur, and someone who identifies themselves as a liberal would take no offense to it. But if a politician considered themselves a "moderate", and knew that being called a "liberal" was merely a political ploy to ascribe beliefs to a person that they might not hold, then that would probably be considered a slur. It is a form of a straw man--calling a person something they aren't in order to claim that they hold certain beliefs.

[last1standing]

29. As with most things, it all lies in context.

If someone uses "Muslim" in a context that connotes something bad, then it's a slur. It just doesn't seem that difficult to understand to me. :shrug:

[Toucano]

33. Exactly.

I could call my daughter a princess with nothing but affection.

I could also call a self-absorbed vapid sorority girl a princess to insult her.


Same word, different context.

[quaker bill]

32. The intent is to

imply that he is in league with the terrorists and engage a fearful response. It is not the words, but the meaning they are intended to carry when spoken that is the slur.

This is a fairly simple concept to wrap one's head around. Muslim americans have been demonized unfairly since 9/11. The statement is meant to invoke this frame.

[LTR]

37. Depends on the context

There are many instances in our past when candidates were attacked for being Catholic. Or being female or Jewish.

Most of the people throwing the 'Muslim' tag at Obama aren't doing it in a nice way. I would consider that a slur.

[cliffordu]

38. In my racist, xenophobic country it can be.

[Honeycombe8]

39. Since a muslim cannot be elected President of the U.S., yes, it is a slur. nt

[AllentownJake]

43. In 2008 in America

Yes unfortunately. A majority of this nation is Christian or has a Christian background. Reading the history between Muslims and Christians in the past 1300 years they have tended to be fighting one another. A vast majority of Americans have never actually met a person who practices Islam. When they hear muslim they think terrorist or militant African American. Since we were attacked by people who were bad muslims (bad in the fact that their attack would not be condoned by their religion) the American people are afraid of that type of Muslim. White America is equally afraid of the Malcon X type of Muslims. Therefore in calling a political candidate in 2008 who is a Christian a Muslim is a slur politically speaking you are trying to imply the candidate is either a terrorist or militant African American that hates white people.

However there is nothing wrong with being a Muslim. The problem is most of America hasn't caught on.

Calling someone a Muslim who isn't right now is the same as calling someone a communist in 1950.

[LBJDemocrat]

44. That's saddening. nt