Disagreeing with Gabbard earns branding as a bigot

The Hindu American Foundation of Washington, D.C., commented in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Thursday that it’s been a difficult month for Hindu Americans, citing the battering of a strolling grandfather by an Alabama cop, the vandalizing of two Hindu temples near Seattle and the rude snub by an Idaho legislator when a Hindu chaplain prayed.

To these deplorable acts of bigotry, the foundation added a fourth alleged Hinduphobe: me.

My offense? Failing to agree with Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, the only Hindu member of Congress, on her repeated bashing of President Barack Obama for not saying enough to call out the Islamic ideology of terrorists in Iraq and Syria.

I felt there was good reason for the president’s rhetorical restraint since our allies in the region are also Muslim and we can’t afford to be seen as waging war on Islam, which is exactly what the bad guys want.

I offered the further point that if Gabbard makes a name for herself by slamming the religion of others, she invites questions by others about her own religious motivations.

To illustrate, I noted an article on Alternet describing Gabbard as Islamophobic and attributing it to her close ties to India’s Modi regime, which has been criticized for mistreatment of India’s Muslim minority, and her political fundraising among the regime’s Hindu American supporters.

The Hindu American Foundation said I was "othering" her.

What the national media say about Hawaii’s elected officials is news; when coverage is favorable, Gabbard trumpets it herself.

But for reporting an unfavorable portrayal, I’m equated with the brutal Alabama police officer, the racist Seattle temple vandals and the troglodyte Idaho legislator.

With all due respect, I’m comfortable that urging Gabbard to be more careful with her sound bites doesn’t a Hinduphobe make and I decline the designation.

I’ve been an admirer of Indian religious faiths since spending many Friday nights in college attending talk-story sessions hosted by the brilliant Dr. Satya Sood of Hilo and Punjab.

Actually, the Hindu American Foundation’s criticism of the column was quite thoughtful compared to some of the others I received from Gabbard supporters.

One local writer said that Muslims are bloodthirsty by nature and will never be able to co-exist with other faiths or secular institutions.

A fellow from Kaneohe said the Quran, Islam’s holy book, reads like Hitler’s "Mein Kampf"and proposed this solution: "Just throw out all Muslims and outlaw Islam in USA, and the war is won."

Gabbard can’t be held responsible for all that her supporters say, but assuming that these broad anti-Islamic sentiments are not what she hopes to inspire, I return to my original suggestion that she would be well-advised to work on reworking her message.

———
Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.