Following up on an item from last week, the House recently took up a resolution recognizing the commencement of Ramadan and “demonstrat[ing] solidarity with and support for members of the community of Islam in the United States” during this Muslim month of fasting. The measure passed without any opposition, as these resolutions nearly always do. These non-binding, symbolic resolutions that honor some person or event are a harmless daily occurrence, which are generally ignored.
Last week, however, there was a catch. There were 376 House members who voted for it, but there were 42 members (41 Republicans and 1 Dem) who voted “present.” Matt Yglesias noted the words of Rep Tim Walberg (R-Minn.), who explained his vote:
“To offer respect for a major religion is one thing, but to offer respect for a major religion that has been behind the Islamic jihad, the radical jihad, that has sworn war upon the United States, its free allies and freedom in Iraq, is another thing.”
It was a simple recognition of Ramadan. Walberg not only balked, but felt it necessary to condemn an entire faith tradition, in an unusually dumb, bigoted rant.
It’s worth taking a moment to consider how this might be perceived internationally.
Sure, it was only a harmless resolution, which U.S. news outlets paid no attention to, but you’d be surprised what overseas media picks up on. Remember when far-right Christian fundamentalists heckled a Hindu leader who had been invited to give the Senate invocation in July? That was a pretty huge story in India, and it made the U.S. look awful.
Likewise, imagine when Middle Eastern news outlets run stories about dozens of lawmakers from the president’s political party who find Islam so offensive, they refuse to even endorse a non-binding measure on Ramadan.
One of the most common conservative complaints about Democratic criticism of the war in Iraq is that “the enemy is listening.” If they hear leading U.S. politicians questioning the utility of an occupation, the right says, then perhaps terrorists will do more to feed that skepticism and force our withdrawal. As such, we need to watch what we say.
But if they’re listening to our criticism of the war, they’re also listening to Walberg’s denunciation of their religion.
As Matt concluded, “I’m sure the people of Iraq really appreciate Rep. Walberg’s thinking on this subject. No doubt the view that Islam is the enemy in Iraq is going to win us a ton of popular support. Oh well.”
It’s as if some Republicans have heard the argument about “hearts and minds,” and have decided our goal should be to drive people away from us.