Arab-bashing, to borrow liberally from the saying about anti-Semitism, is the ideology of scoundrels. How easily talking heads readily assume that professor Rashid Khalidi is an anti-Semite because he criticizes Israel. This is driven not by the “content of his character” or the substance of his critiques, but by his ethnicity. His Arabness is what enables the failure by anyone to challenge this. And an innocent and highly recognized scholar’s name is trudged through the mud.

Nothing reveals the absence of intellectual thought in this conversation than McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb’s ridiculously vacuous appearance on CNN yesterday. Frustrated interviewer Rick Sanchez exposed Goldfarb’s unadulterated bullshitting through direct questioning, but sadly, Sanchez mindlessly repeated the accusation against Khalidi several times, in effect reifying a lie.

Listen to Professor Khalidi’s two-year-old interview with KABOBfest and identify where this hatred of Jews exists.

Sober observers have properly refuted this campaign, from Ron Kampeas on the pages of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (who also retorts Martin Kramer’s distracting lunges), to Scott Horton from Harper’s.

The campaign to drag Khalidi through the mud is probably motivated by some other nefarious intents – the prevent the influence of a prominent Arab-American. This whole episode is eerily similar to the Fox News-led inquisition of Dr. Sami Al-Arian, just after he effectively helped deliver the Arab and Muslim vote for Bush in Florida.

Some may find the comparison with anti-Semitism made in the beginning of this post a stretch. But it is clear that professor Khalidi’s ethnicity is clear here. And, ironically, the charge of “anti-Semitic,” when baselessly tossed against Palestinians, has become racist code itself. People concerned about racial, ethnic or religious hatred should protest the term’s misuse.

UPDATE: Greenwald’s Salon comment is a great articulation of many of my arguments here. And he links Juan Cole’s magnificent comments.

Cole urges people to buy Khalidi’s Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood and “give it out to friends who don’t understand the situation in the Mideast.”

[tarboush tip: AAI]

“All the American press can talk about is the fact that Obama is being smeared, not about the fact that a huge swath of humanity is being smeared in this election.”

Poor Barack Obama, indeed.

The rest of the show featured CAIR’s Ibrahim Cooper discussing the Obsession DVD and Isabel MacDonald on the new FAIR report called “Smearcasting: How Islamophobes Spread Fear, Bigotry and Misinformation.” The report seeks to document the public writings and appearances of Islamophobic activists and pundits who intentionally and regularly spread fear, bigotry and misinformation in the media.

FAIR has identified “The Dirty Dozen,” better known here on KABOBfest as the usual suspects: Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Daniel Pipes, David Horowitz, Debbie Schlussel, Pat Robertson, Michelle Malkin, Michael Savage, Steve Emerson, Glenn Beck, Robert Spencer, and Mark Steyn.

Their report outlines four case studies, all already discussed at great length on this here blog: The rise of the term “Islamofascism,” the Khalil Gibran International Academy debacle, the Dunkin Donuts keffiyah hysterics, and the accusations of Obama as a “secret muslim” during the 2008 presidential campaign.

The report is available online. [Smearcasting.com]

[Tarboush Tip: hbb]

“You’ve probably heard the rumors: “Barack Obama is a Muslim.” “John McCain confessed to being a war criminal.” The false rumors, spread by the Internet, have been forcefully and quickly refuted by both campaigns. Analysts say that’s the best way to deal with the lies — but that some rumors are so vague it’s almost impossible to shoot them down.” [CNN]

[Tarboush Tip: Foofy]

Of course, Campbell Brown probably didn’t mean to contribute and she may never know that she did. But add her latest piece, “So what if Obama were a Muslim or an Arab?” to the growing collection of arguments along that same line: “There’s nothing wrong with being Arab or Muslim. A lot of Arabs and Muslims are normal; they want to live just like anyone else. But make no mistake, Obama is NOT Arab and he’s NOT Muslim. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But you should definitely know that Obama is a Christian. Which also means that he’s not Arab.”

Such is the structure of (well-meaning?) arguments from folks who would rather drop dead than to ever consider themselves—much less the whole of their country—guilty of racism.

“So what if Obama was Arab or Muslim?” writes Campbell Brown. “So what if John McCain was Arab or Muslim? Would it matter? When did that become a disqualifier for higher office in our country? When did Arab and Muslim become dirty words? The equivalent of dishonorable or radical?”

Campbell Brown is adult enough to know the answers. Barack Obama figured it out long ago. This is why he won’t have his photo taken with veiled women; refuses to sell buttons on his web site that say “Arabs for Obama” or “Muslims for Obama” even though he has a “Catholics for Obama” button and an Obama button in Hebrew; proclaims to love and seek to defend Israel and keep Jerusalem its undivided capital, as was made quite clear in his AIPAC speech; etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum. If he ever was a friend of the Palestinians, that all ceased the day he thought he could be president.

Unlike Obama and his campaign staff, it is obvious that Ms. Brown has been living on another planet since September 11th—at least. Her dream of what this country is supposed to be and what the reality is on the ground are canyons apart, evident in that she asks questions for which everybody already knows the answers to; answers which she cannnot, and will not, acknowledge until she is able to face up to a fundamental characteristic of this country:

The United States was not only built on racial supremacy, it continues to run on it. If it’s not one group discriminated against today, another is ready to take its place. This stands not a chance of changing until we can first begin to say outloud those things we already know are true:

It is not okay to be Arab or Muslim in the United States of America.

Wingnuts can admit it and easily move on with their lives. Liberals, however, cannot without breaking too many hearts or imploding too many heads rife with internal contradictions.

Racism is not a one-on-one sport. The inability to acknowledge that structural racism exists is what keeps it alive. It is also part of what keeps folks like Campbell Brown confused, leading her to defend Arabs and Muslims by whitening them for acceptable consumption:

Commentary: So what if Obama were a Muslim or an Arab?

You may find it hard to believe that this remains an issue in this campaign, but it does.

The candidates, both candidates, are still getting questions about Barack Obama’s ethnicity and religion. If you are even semi-informed, then by now you already know that of course, Barack Obama is an American.

Of course, Barack Obama is a Christian. Yet just a few days ago, there was a woman at a rally for John McCain incorrectly calling Obama an Arab:

Woman at rally: I don’t trust Obama. I have read about him and he’s an Arab.

Sen. John McCain: No ma’am, no ma’am. He’s a decent family man, citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. That’s what this campaign is all about. He’s not, thank you.

Now, I commend Sen. McCain for correcting that woman, for setting the record straight. But I do have one question — so what if he was?

So what if Obama was Arab or Muslim? So what if John McCain was Arab or Muslim? Would it matter?

When did that become a disqualifier for higher office in our country? When did Arab and Muslim become dirty words? The equivalent of dishonorable or radical?

Whenever this gets raised, the implication is that there is something wrong with being an Arab-American or a Muslim. And the media is complicit here, too.

We’ve all been too quick to accept the idea that calling someone Muslim is a slur.

I feel like I am stating the obvious here, but apparently it needs to be said: There is a difference between radical Muslims who support jihad against America and Muslims who want to practice their religion freely and have normal lives like anyone else.

There are more than 1.2 million Arab-Americans and about 7 million Muslim-Americans, former Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, successful business people, normal average Americans from all walks of life.

These are the people being maligned here, and we can only imagine how this conversation plays in the Muslim world. We can’t tolerate this ignorance — not in the media, not on the campaign trail.

Of course, he’s not an Arab. Of course, he’s not a Muslim. But honestly, it shouldn’t matter.

[CNN]