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"As soon as I sat down in my first NYC taxi ride after the 9/11 attacks, the cab driver, possibly sensing some nervousness on my part, turned around and declared: &amp;quot;I&amp;#39;m not Muslim. I&amp;#39;m Hispanic!&amp;quot; I said, &amp;quot;Well, I am Muslim, and if you don&amp;#39;t want to drive me, that&amp;#39;s okay.&amp;quot;\nAs pressured as I felt in those days, I think Election 2008 has surpassed them or brought the situation to a crescendo. Jingoistic zealots and New Yorker editors have been reawakening old fears and prejudices, suggesting or outright stating, as McCain supporter and Swift Boat Veteran Bud Day did, that we Muslims are secretly gathering and plotting, laying in wait to kill Americans. I want to people understand that the possibility of terrorisim &amp;quot;winning&amp;quot; is especially depressing and dangerous to me. It would mean I&amp;#39;ve lost the only country and home I have known and that the religion that has comforted me has been destroyed, commandeered by extremists who don&amp;#39;t share my love of Islam.\nIt&amp;#39;s not his fault, but because Obama&amp;#39;s campaign brought all this to the fore, he has to move this dilemma towards resolution. His comments on Larry King, where he noted that he had been derelict in acknowledging American Muslims and that he understood why we were offended by The New Yorker cover, are good on paper, but his delivery was awkward and uncomfortable. His campaign&amp;#39;s alleged instructions to staffers on Obama&amp;#39;s trip not to wear any green clothing because of its association with Muslims and suspect Muslim groups doesn&amp;#39;t help. As a commenter to this blog said last week, I still want Obama to take off his shoes and visit a mosque. I also want McCain to have a rally with Muslim women (both hijab-wearers and not) lined up behind him. (Hint, hint, McCain, this would be a great way to get some attention away from Obama&amp;#39;s World Tour &amp;#39;08!) A candidate who really stands for true American values would have no hesitation in doing either.\nTell me&amp;#8212;do you think Obama or McCain owes us a further resolution? When will we as a country become comfortable with Muslims?\n&amp;#8212;Asma\nP.S. Although a lot of those jingoistic zealots thought he was one of their guys, I always thought that Tony Snow, the former White House Press Secretary who passed away last week, was one of the good guys, who always voiced his beliefs in a non-confrontational and even charming manner. My first time on The O&amp;#39;Reilly Factor, I lucked out because Tony was subbing for O&amp;#39;Reilly. When I met him again some time later, he recognized me and enthusiastically asked how my writing was going. He even posed for this fun photo with me (yes, I have pink streaks in my hair, which he politely did not comment on). I admire that he was a journalist who also became a public servant. I will miss seeing his shiny grin.\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/story/obamas-islam-dunk>