Semitically Named American Heroes

From Professor Juan Cole: Barack Hussein Obama, Omar Bradley, Benjamin Franklin and other Semitically Named American Heroes.

"I want to say something about Barack Hussein Obama's name. It is a name to be proud of. It is an American name. It is a blessed name. It is a heroic name, as heroic and American in its own way as the name of General Omar Nelson Bradley or the name of Benjamin Franklin. And denigrating that name is a form of racial and religious bigotry of the most vile and debased sort. It is a prejudice against names deriving from Semitic languages!"

Cole goes on to analyze the meaning of Barack and Hussein in Arabic; he discusses at length the Hebrew meanings of names such as Barak, Benjamin and Abraham; he points out all the American heroes with Arabic/Semitic names, and he makes note of the number of Americans who probably have Arab or Muslim ancestors or relatives. (He counts John McCain, whose adopted daughter is from Bangladesh and therefore has blood relations who are Muslim).

A rousing response to the Muslim-baiting we hear re: Barack Hussein Obama.

Comments

[Judy]

I always rankle at Bill Maher's Arab-bashing. Hello? Maher? C'mon Bill, own up to your Arab ancestry!!