One of the many great qualities of social media and people in the public eye posting on social media is that every now and then, you get the chance to see into their “normal” lives, whether it is a Tweet, an Instagram picture, or a Facebook post. More interestingly, these posts are always turned into something they are not, whether that is positive or negative, because simply put, that is just what the internet does. This blog will take a deeper look into the personal accounts of President Obama, and those who are currently in the run for the next presidential election. While many of these accounts are generally ran by a staff, every so often the President and the presidential candidates will post something that comes entirely from their own fingers. It is nice, and sometimes shocking, to see what these people that are in the public eye will post for the public to see.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Muslims and United States Presidents, Can They Be The Same?


I am sure we have all heard by now of Ahmed Mohamed and the incident with his clock. His story and what happened to him overtook social media and news outlets within hours and he was being supported from people all over, check out this BuzzFeed link that shares some of the people that reached out to Ahmed. http://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemcneal/teen-arrested-for-bringing-a-homemade-clock-to-school-now-ha#.kkBX5w62A
President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter, Google Science Fair, Reddit, engineers from NASA, and the list goes on, all reached out to Ahmed asking to meet him, talking internships, jobs, and more. Ahmed thanked everyone for all the support, and posted a Tweet saying, “I really didn’t think people would care about a Muslim boy.” There have been arguments made that the school followed policy and that they had to ensure the safety of all children. People are opposing that argument by saying that if Ahmed would have been a white boy the situation would not have been escalated the way it did. And that the measures that resulted in Ahmed being arrested only happened so quickly because he is a Muslim and Muslims are associated with bombs and things of the like. Whatever your opinion on the matter is, I thought this story would be a great opener to discussing Muslims as presidents of the United States.
Over the weekend, Ben Carson made a comment saying that he does not think a Muslim is fit to be in the White House. However, he recently spoke on his comment by saying "I don't care what a person's religion beliefs are or religious heritage is, if they embrace our Constitution and are willing to place that above their religious beliefs, I have no problem with that." In a Facebook post this past Monday night Carson wrote “I could never support a candidate for President of the United States that was Muslim and had not renounced the central tenant of Islam: Sharia Law. Those Republicans that take issue with my position are amazing. Under Islamic Law, homosexuals – men and women alike – must be killed. Women must be subservient. And people following other religions must be killed. I know that there are many peaceful Muslims who do not adhere to these beliefs. But until these tenants are fully renounced…I cannot advocate any Muslim candidate for President.”
Carly Fiorina disagrees with Carson on the matter. She stated that in our constitution it says that religion cannot be a test for office. She also stated how she believes people of faith (any faith I am guessing since she did not specify) make better leaders. Bernie Sanders also publicly disagreed with Caron’s opinions. He brought up how the U.S. overcame prejudice with electing a Catholic (John F. Kennedy) and electing an African American (Barack Obama).
 
There have also been negative comments towards Obama saying that he is a Muslim. Obama has repeatedly stated that he practices the Christian faith, and the White House even released copies of Obama’s original birth certificate in an attempt to put the theories to rest concerning Obama’s place of birth. Trump was questioned on the matter and did not respond, which caused some uproar by some media sites. Trump took to Twitter to say how it was a no-win situation for him.
 
He also commented on how it was Hillary Clinton (supposedly, I am not sure if this holds any truth or not) that first started all the rumors of Obama being a Muslim.
Some people bring up separation of church and state, and say that as long as those who run our country have learned the difference between the two (church and state), religion should not be a factor in determining who can and cannot be president. What are everyone’s opinions on this? I am not at all offering my opinion, so please do not assume you know my opinions on this matter, this is just a really interesting subject to me and I am interested to know everyone else’s opinions as well. I do not want  tocause any trouble on my blog, but just some food for thought… I do not see anyone questioning Christians in positions of power. So, as long as it is the Christian religion then it is okay, but if it is a Muslim or other religions then it is wrong?
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/22/politics/ben-carson-religious-beliefs-muslim/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-ben-carson-muslim-president_55ff3a2ae4b0fde8b0ceba6
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/09/22/carly-fiorina-tells-jimmy-fallon-carson-wrong-muslims-serving-president/72607754/
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-lets-comment-muslims-problem-us-slide/story?id=33847640
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2 comments:

  1. The GrayowlerSeptember 23, 2015 at 5:39 PM

    Thought provoking question. I'll counter with: how many readers know what yesterday and today are - religious-wise?

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  2. UnknownSeptember 25, 2015 at 4:03 PM

    I love that your post points out both sides of the argument! The matter of race in today's times is very intriguing, especially in relation to the presidential campaign and all the trending topics surrounding it. I thought it was interesting how Carson explained his beliefs on why a Muslim (in looking at what their culture believes and practices) should not be President. But I also thought it was interesting how Fiorina countered by saying that religion cannot be a test for someone to be in office, but those that are religious make better leaders. Fiorina's claims were exceptionally interesting because her statements almost counter themselves. I do not see how one that could be influenced by faith could ALSO put the Constitution ABOVE those beliefs. But that's just my unpopular opinion. :)

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