A God Who Hates (28 page)

After the events of September 11th, I watched a press conference with an American general whose name I can no longer recall. In the course of the conference, he declared that he had read the Koran twice, and one of the reporters asked him, “What conclusion did you reach after you had read it?” He bowed his head for a moment before replying, “We have to defend ourselves.” At this point I have to ask, “Mr. Powell why won’t you stand up and defend us and the country you love?”

President Obama has declared that he is not a Muslim and I believe him; but if he
were
a Muslim, things would be different. I and every other loyal American would have to adopt a different attitude. Islamic teachings include the notion
of taqia
(literally, “caution, prudence”), which allows a Muslim to conceal his true feelings and cherished beliefs when he feels that non-Muslims around him have the upper hand, while at the same time working secretly to achieve his great objective, so that he can attack them when the time is ripe. Naturally, not all Muslims believe in this principle or act in accordance with it, but the painful truth is that the West has to defend itself and try to subject every Muslim to microscopic scrutiny, especially those who are candidates for the leadership of the most powerful country in the world.

No one can be a true Muslim and a true American simultaneously. Islam is both a religion and a state, and to be a true Muslim you must believe in Islam as both religion and state. A true Muslim does not acknowledge the U.S. Constitution, and his willingness to live under that constitution is, as far as he is concerned, nothing more than an unavoidable step on the way to that constitution’s replacement by Islamic Sharia law.

The Koran says: “Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends. They are friends with one another. Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall become one of their number. Allah does not guide the wrongdoers” (5:51). Would a Muslim candidate for the American presidency be able to put his trust in Jews and Christians if he believes they are not fit to be his friends and protectors? This is a question I leave to Colin Powell to answer, and when I get the right answer from him I will be reassured that America is in safe hands.

On November 4, 2008, after a very difficult labor, the American people elected Mr. Barack Obama as their president. That very same day my daughter Farah suffered a very difficult labor, too, and, after exercising my right to vote, I rushed to the hospital to be with her. In the labor ward I was cut off from the outside world for the entire day, and the night that followed seemed very long. I sat beside my daughter’s bed holding her hand, trying to alleviate her labor pains.

On the morning of the following day, November 5, my first granddaughter, Jazlyn, was born, and her cries mingled with the voice of Mr. Obama issuing from the television set in my daughter’s room. In the excitement of the moment, the words of the news commentators: “This could happen only in America” lingered in my mind throughout the president’s acceptance speech. It’s true. Only in America could a member of a minority be elected by a majority.

And only in America could a girl be born of mixed races, then acquire a new citizenship totally unconnected with her origins. America is the land of dreams—and what’s more, it is the only country where every dream can come true.

I can almost hear the voices of American television announcers forty years from now telling the world: “Wafa Sultan’s granddaughter Jazlyn has been elected president of the United States.”

Who knows? One can dream, can’t one?

And perhaps in that selfsame year muezzins will announce from the minarets of Syria: “Wafa Sultan’s efforts have been crowned with success, and a new god has been born: a God who loves.”

Until then, I hope and I pray and I fight and, yes, I dream a little.