Preachers of hate have no place at the podiums of prayers

Did the Pentagon do the right thing by disinviting evangelist Franklin Graham from a National Day of Prayer event next week? Should government officials decide who can or cannot speak at such an event? Should the government proclaim a National Day of Prayer? Was a federal judge right to rule it unconstitutional?

It is a shame that the Pentagon had to withdraw its invitation to Franklin Graham. He should not have been invited in the first place. It is frightening that he has a constituency in the army.

It exposes the intellectual limitations of those who manage the affairs of the Pentagon. They had to be reminded that Franklin Graham is a hate-monger who has maligned millions of innocent American Muslims and Muslims worldwide who not only condemn violence but also work hard to combat extremism from all sources including Franklin Graham.

It is disturbing that they did not recognize bigotry for what it is and also had to be alerted to the strategic implications of valorizing a preacher of hate. What if thousands of American troops were not stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, would the Pentagon have still recognized that Graham’s statements about Islam and Muslims worthy of denunciation?

Franklin Graham was close to the Bush administration and his hateful language towards Islam along with that of others such as Jerry Falwell. Pat Robertson, and Jerry Vines has been instrumental in nourishing the notion in the Muslim World that the war on terror was actually a war on Islam.

Hate speech against Islam by Christian preachers is one of the main reasons for the growing numbers of hate crimes against Muslims in the U.S. and the recent spike in Islamophobia. It is time to look at persistent statements by bigots like Graham as conspiracy to spread hate.

I am not opposed to the idea of a national prayer day. As a Muslim I pray five times a day. Everyday is a prayer day. There is merit in a collective and congregational event that fosters goodwill and harmony. I welcome a national prayer day, as long as it does not target any community of any faith, or ethnicity or nationality. As for those who are secular and agnostic, their concerns can be addressed by making this event a voluntary one in which the state does not get involved actively.

The state may or may not advocate prayers, but it is its responsibility to fight hate. In this case the Pentagon confused one for the other.