Qanta Ahmed Qanta Ahmed

A memo for Dr Ben Carson: Islam and Islamism are conjoined but distinct

Like so many of the conjoined twins Dr Ben Carson has skilfully separated, Islam the monotheism, compatible with democracy, and its impostor, Islamism, the totalitarian ideology, incompatible with democracy, while intricately conjoined, couldn’t be more distinct in personality.

Dr Carson’s assertion that American Muslims are unfit to hold the Presidency is explained only by his ignorance – not only of US constitutional history but of Islam and Islamism. His inability to conceive of an American Muslim as a pluralist liberal democrat shows the doctor’s inability – or unwillingness – to separate Islam from Islamism.

Dr Carson’s assertions are hardly new. The barring of American Muslims from the Oval office was first debated in a state-by-state ratification battle over 227 years ago. The introduction of Article VI Section 3 Clause 1 of the US Constitution was met with intense criticism: ‘No Religious Test shall ever be required as Qualification to any Office or Public Trust under the United States’.

Opponents at the time, much like Dr Carson, believed prohibiting religious vetting allowed ‘a Jew, Turk, or infidel’ to become president. (In contemporary times ‘Turk’ referred to the Muslim subjects of the Ottoman Empire). But despite this resistance, the article would indeed be ratified, because federalists recognised both the novelty and necessity of such inclusion if the United States was to guarantee the religious liberties they had so vehemently fought for in their separation from the British Empire. Prohibiting religious testing ensured the religious beliefs of a privileged majority from ever superseding liberal democratic ideals guaranteed to all, including the most vulnerable minority.

Dr Carson’s ignorance aside, he merely reflects – and exploits – the wider public discourse surrounding Muslims and how we impact the collective US political consciousness. Such angst is reminiscent of our nation’s fears concerning Muslims at the time of America’s extraordinary birth.

Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, while himself a harsh critic of all monotheisms (including Islam), explored the 18th century perceptions of the Muslim American.

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Qanta Ahmed
Written by
Qanta Ahmed
Dr Qanta Ahmed is a British American Muslim physician and journalist, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum.

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