Muslim Women Moved From Obama TV Shot

Campaign Volunteers Prevented Women's Headscarves From Appearing On TV At Event

(The Politico)  This story was written by Ben Smith.

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Two Muslim women at Barack Obama's rally in Detroit on Monday were barred from sitting behind the podium by campaign volunteers seeking to prevent the women's headscarves from appearing in photographs or on television with the candidate.

The campaign has apologized to the women, both Obama supporters who said they felt betrayed by their treatment at the rally. 

"This is of course not the policy of the campaign. It is offensive and counter to Obama's commitment to bring Americans together and simply not the kind of campaign we run," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. "We sincerely apologize for the behavior of these volunteers."

Building a human backdrop to a political candidate, a set of faces to appear on television and in photographs, is always a delicate exercise in demographics and political correctness. Advance staffers typically pick supporters out of a crowd to reflect the candidate's message.

When Obama won the North Carolina primary amid questions about his ability to connect with white voters, for instance, he stood in front of a group of middle-aged white women waving small American flags. On the Republican side, a Hispanic New Hampshire Democrat, Roberto Fuentes, told Politico that he was recently asked, and declined, to contribute to the "diversity" of the crowd behind Sen. John McCain at a Nashua event.

But for Obama, the old-fashioned image-making contrasts with his promise to transcend identity politics and to embrace all elements of America. The incidents in Michigan, which has one of the largest Arab and Muslim populations in the country, also raise an aspect of his campaign that sometimes rubs Muslims the wrong way: The candidate has vigorously denied a false, viral rumor that he himself is Muslim. But the denials seem to some at times to imply that there is something wrong with the faith, though Obama occasionally adds that he means no disrespect to Islam.

"I was coming to support him, and I felt like I was discriminated against by the very person who was supposed to be bringing this change, who I could really relate to," said Hebba Aref, a 25-year-old lawyer who lives in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills. "The message that I thought was delivered to us was that they do not want him associated with Muslims or Muslim supporters."

In Detroit on Monday, the two different Obama volunteers - in separate incidents - made it clear that headscarves wouldn't be in the picture. The volunteers gave different explanations for excluding the hijabs, one bluntly political and the other less clear.

In Aref's case, there was no ambiguity.

That incident began when the volunteer asked Aref's friend Ali Koussan and two other friends, Aref's brother Sharif and another young lawyer, Brandon Edward Miller, whether they would like to sit behind the stage. The three young men said they would, but mentioned they were with friends.

The men said the volunteer, a twenty-something African-American woman in a green shirt, asked if their friends looked and were dressed like the young men, who were all light-skinned and wearing suits. Miller said yes, but mentioned that one of their friends was wearing a headscarf with her suit.

The volunteer "explained to me that because of the political climate and what's going on in the world and what's going on with Muslim Americans, it's not good for [Aref] to be seen on TV or associated with Obama," said Koussan, who is a law student at Wayne State University.

Both Koussan and Miller said they specifically recalled the volunteer citing the "political climate" in telling them they couldn't sit behind Obama.

"I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me. Are you serious?'" Koussan recalled.

Shimaa Abdelfadeel's story was different. She'd waited on line outside the Joe Louis Arena for three hours in the sun and was walking through the giant hall when a voluteer approached two of her non-Muslim friends, a few steps ahead of her, and asked if they'd like to sit in "special seating" behind the stage, said one friend, Brittany Marino, who, like Abdelfadeel, is a recent University of Michigan graduate who works for the university.


When they said they were with Abdelfadeel, the volunteer told them their friend would have to take the headscarf off or stay out of the special section, Marino said. They declined the seats. 

After recovering from the shock of the incident, Abdelfadeel went to look for the volunteer and confronted her minutes later, she said in an e-mail interview with Politico.

"We're not letting anyone with anything on their heads like baseball [caps] or scarves sit behind the stage," she paraphrased the volunteer as saying, an account Marino confirmed. "It has nothing to do with your religion!"

In most work and school settings, religious dress - such as Jewish yarmulkes, Sikh turbans, Muslim hijabs - is permitted where secular clothing like baseball caps is not.

"The scarf is not just something she can take off - it's part of her identity," said Marino.

Photographs of the event also show men with hats in the section behind Obama and former Vice President Al Gore, though not directly behind the candidate.

Abdelfadeel, like Aref, felt "disappointed, angry and let-down," she later wrote.

She was "let-down that the Obama campaign continously perpetuates this attitude towards Muslims and Arabs - as if being merely associated [with] one is a sin."

The two women's friends who witnessed the incidents were disappointed too. Aref's friend Miller said he was "shocked" by the contrast between Obama's message and their experience.

"He was the one candidate who you would expect to stand up for something like that - and behind the scenes you have something completely contrary to what he was running on," said Koussan, Aref's other friend.

Aref and her friends complained to the campaign, and after those complaints and an inquiry from Politico, Obama's director of advance, Emmett S. Beliveau, called her to apologize.

An Obama aide also noted that the campaign has no policy against the candidate's appearing with women in headscarves: The next morning at Wayne State University, Obama posed for a picture with a student wearing a hijab.

Photographs from a Seattle rally earlier this year also clearly show a couple in Muslim clothes behind the candidate.

The administrator of the "Muslims4Obama" group on Obama's website, which is not a formal part of the campaign, also said she had "not heard anything regarding Muslim supporters being steered away from sitting behind Sen. Obama at the event," and noted that he had Muslim supporters present at events in Minnesota, including one at which he stood with a Muslim member of Congress, Keith Ellison.

Aref said she was glad Obama had apologized, but she was not entirely satisfied.

"I think this is a much bigger deal than maybe they're perceiving it as," she said, noting that Obama had placed a personal call to a television reporter he'd dismissively called "Sweetie."

"An apology from him personally would be better," she said, then reconsidered. "If they are true to their word, I think it would suffice to have an invitation to their next rally and have seats behind him and show up on TV."

[patriot12436]

taddles3
Too many things have happened that leave questions unanswered. I will not trust the man because of this.

[patriot12436]

Well said Rowdy. I am not against the man because he is black, i just have a feling he can''t be trusted. If i am right and he is elected then we are doomed. If he is elected and i am wrong then maybe he will do some good for our country. Time will tell.

[patriot12436]

flangesqueal
I think if you vote for obama our problems will only get worse. I don''t like mccain either but consider him a lesser evil. I think it may already be too late to save our country.

[patriot12436]

feelfree4u
if you have studied Islam for 27 years you should be able to read my posts. I have clearly been pro Muslim , anti-terrorist thru out. I believe only 5% of terrorists make up the Muslim population as the Muslims are also a God fearing people of religious faith. It may be different from American Christianity but is no worse.

[dnsallday]

I have seen women in hijabs sitting behind Sen. Obama at televised rallies before, more than once.
The campaigns are always looking for specifics to put in front of the camera depending on the audience they are targeting.
These 2 women should get a life. They remind me of the screamers that you see at the airport or hotel lobbies demanding that for some stupid reason they demand to get some special treatment.
How many people can imagine demanding that they get to sit behind the nominee so they can get on television?

[dobbershome]

Shaheed8:

Why do you think the 2 women were barred from sitting behing the podium? The Obama staff was given specific orders from the high command,that''s why. Get my drift?

[bajaan]

The evidence is that Obama was not even aware of the affront until it was shown on television. While Obama is not a Muslim, I do not believe he is a religious bigot; I believe those who say differently are the true bigots looking for any opportunity to smear Obama.

[dobbershome]

Talk about doing anything to win an election.

[rowdywicca]

The Great Obama kicks two Muslim women under the bus.Please stick to the story.

Posted by mr2258 at 05:19 PM : Jun 19, 2008"


Except that he didn''''t, a staffer did, please stick to the story.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by taddles3 at 05:23 PM : Jun 19, 2008

Trouble is, he blames everything on his staff....

His own handwriting on a brochure stating he was for handgun control...blamed it on his staff...

Sending letters of testimony for Rezko to scam money...claimed it was a form letter sent out by his staff...(bull *****)

And many other missteps, he blames on his staff!

Again, if he''s in the White House, there is no room for error on his meaning, or action, or the manner in which the most insignificant person is treated.

[mr2258]

The Great Obama...After he has followed Rev.Wright for 20 years,How could one think that he is not a racist.Be real.....

[taddles3]

"The Great Obama kicks two Muslim women under the bus.Please stick to the story.

Posted by mr2258 at 05:19 PM : Jun 19, 2008"


Except that he didn''t, a staffer did, please stick to the story.

[taddles3]

"If he is going to be criticized either way, then he should have made the choice to be criticized for doing the right thing.

Posted by IrishWench at 05:18 PM : Jun 19, 2008"


He didn''t make the choice, some staffers at a rally did. But he''s being blamed by the left for discriminating when he''s supposed to be about inclusiveness and criticized by the right for trying to hide his "Muslim supporters".

[taddles3]

"What does all this BS have to do with Obama having two Muslim women move where they would not be seen next to him ????

Posted by mr2258 at 05:14 PM : Jun 19, 2008"


Because it''s people like Salami boy who want to demonize Muslims so they can make an innuendo about Barak Obama because of his name to attack him with. It belittles Muslims and demeans our political process to reduce it to a juvenile petty name calling game.

[mr2258]

The Great Obama kicks two Muslim women under the bus.Please stick to the story.

[taddles3]

"are these muslims haji???

Posted by terrorislami at 05:10 PM : Jun 19, 2008"


The name is taddles, your childish name calling just belittles your arguments.


Those are isolated events in Iran, you don''t list the other 51 predominantly Muslim countries that have no issues with people of all faiths living together. You just post the extreme view and claim it''s ubiquitous when in fact it''s an aberration. Your hate of Muslims clouds your judgment and allows you to make stupid blanket statements about one of the most populous religions in the world that encompasses nearly a third of the worlds nations.

[mr2258]

What does all this BS have to do with Obama having two Muslim women move where they would not be seen next to him ????

[zerato-2009]

Some one at Obama campaign are sensitive about the muslim issue. I guess it a battle obama can not win. If he has them behind him it builds up the stereotype and if they keep them away then he is a racist pig.

[taddles3]

"you talk like europe had muslims in it for thousands of years,,, LOL

the only time that happened was when the fascist nazi germans did it,,, and they learned that from the fascit nazi terrorislamists,,,

Posted by terrorislami at 05:02 PM : Jun 19, 2008"


You talk like you don''t know that Islam is only 1400 years old. You also talk like you don''t know that Spain and southern France were occupied for several hundred years by Muslims, they were called Moors.

So you''re telling me that the Nazis learned Naziism from the Muslims...whom they hated as much as they hated the Jews. Yea, that makes so much sense...not.

[terrorislami]

Posted by taddles3 at 05:06 PM : Jun 19, 2008

are these muslims haji???

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=iran+christian converts&btnG=Search

In Iran, Covert Christian Converts Live With Secrecy and Fear - US ...May 8, 2008 ... A draft Iranian law would mandate the death penalty for apostasy.
www.usnews.com/.../news/world/2008/05/08/in-iran-covert-christian-converts-live-with-secrecy-and-fear.html

Iran Arrests 12 Christian Converts | Christianpost.comPolice in a southern city in Iran reportedly arrested 12 Christian converts from Islam in what appears to be part of a crackdown on the country%u2019s growing ...
www.christianpost.com/article/20080527/32545_Iran_Arrests_12_Christian_Converts.htm

Iran: Onward Christian ConvertsOnward Christian Converts. May 24, 2008: The most powerful weapon in the Iranian arsenal is the press release. That''s not saying much, as the Iranians have ...
www.strategypage.com/qnd/iran/articles/20080524.aspx

Amnesty International concerned about Five Christian converts ...Payvand''s Iran News ... 05/31/08. Amnesty International concerned about Five Christian converts detained in Iran ...
www.payvand.com/news/08/may/1299.html

Iran: Christian Convert Stabbed To Death :: Iran :: HyscienceNov 29, 2005 ... Iran: Christian Convert Stabbed To Death. Topics: Iran. "I will stop Christianity in this country," Ahmadinejad reportedly vowed. ...
www.hyscience.com/archives/2005/11/iran_christian_1.php

[taddles3]

"but then i would not even put it that high because that includes the forced converts,,, they are not muslims and never will be,,,

Posted by terrorislami at 04:58 PM : Jun 19, 2008"


LOL, now you''re arguing which Muslims are real Muslims, lame.