Muslim vs Palin

Comparison: Palin and Muslim Beliefs

A close analysis of Sarah Palin’s values reveals some interesting similarities to those of Muslim fundamentalists. Ironically, in a country that values individual freedoms including freedom of speech, politics and religion, Sarah Palin presents a distinct departure from these basic American tenets. As citizen Sarah Palin, she is entitled to her views, however, as the possible next Vice President of the United States, the leader of the free world, her positions on some issues should raise alarm bells. Palin is on record saying that the Iraq war is “God’s Will”. Oddly enough that is what Hamas and other extreme fundamentalist Muslims believe. In this You Tube video, you will hear Palin tell her audience just that – it is God’s will.

Now that she is in the spotlight, Sarah Palin is preaching her brand of ethics and values not just to the American people but to the world audience including those in the Muslim world that agree with her point of view on several topics: censorship, the teaching of creationism in schools, reproductive rights, attributing government policy to God's will and climate change, It seems Palin agrees with Hamas and other countries like Saudi Arabia on limiting freedoms rather than supporting tolerance and democratic values.

Perhaps the most contentious of these issues is Palin’s belief that religious faith is not only a private matter of individuals but that government should operate in the same religious theater. She proves this in her pledge to shape the judiciary. This is Theocracy101 and was specifically denounced by the Founding Fathers of America by forbidding government support of any specific religion or domination. Indeed, in Muslim countries religion is politics and vice versa.

In 2000, McCain went on record calling Reverend Jerry Falwell and other ultra conservatives, "agents of intolerance." In essence he was saying that this intolerance smacked of radical fundamentalist beliefs in the Muslim community. Of course, the presidential race has caused a ‘more tolerant’ approach to Falwell et. al. because McCain knows he needs the Christian right to help win this election.

McCain's previous implication of intolerance within fundamentalist Muslim sects no longer looks consistent with the view he now takes towards the leaders of the Christian right. it makes the McCain-Palin ticket look ambiguous at best and bigoted at worse.

Issue	Muslim Fundamentalists	Sarah Palin
Book Censorship	It is common in the Muslim world to ban certain books entirely. For instance the Hamas minister of education for the Palestinian government banned a book of Palestinian folk tales because of its sexually explicit language. Palin leads by example as she too thinks it’s OK to ban some books.	During her mayor ship of Wasilla, Alaska Palin asked the town’s librarian about banning certain books because some of her constituents complained they contained inappropriate language. The librarian was appalled by the question. Palin later fired the librarian who was then re-instated when the town went into an uproar over the issue.. Listen to the librarian’s comments as told by those who were there:
Origin of life	A feature of Muslim fundamentalism is that God is the almighty creator. In fact, Saudi Arabia prohibits the study of evolution; Malaysia has banned a translation of "The Origin of the Species"; and fundamentalists in Turkey want the government to impose the teaching of creationism in the public schools. The extremist Muslim community of today has re-worked some of the basic tents of that faith.Traditionally, Islam taught that the world had existed from eternity; others spoke of existence of thousands or millions of years. In today’s teachings the vision has become much more narrow and it suits fundamentalists more to promote that ‘woman came from the rib of man’. Interestingly, the majority of Iranians and Egyptians polled recently said they would ensure freedom of expression in any constitution they designed.	Palin openly believes in creationism and that it should fall under the science umbrella in school curriculums. Creationism includes the belief that woman literally came from the rib of man – there is no room for evolution as Darwin wrote about. Creationism is a fundamental belief of the church Palin and her family belong to – the Assemblies of God.
Abortion	Modern fundamentalist Muslims generally do not accept abortion. Fundamentalist Muslim extremists give very few rights to women and women’s issues, including abortion. Although the Iranian parliament once attempted to pass legislation allowing abortions up to four months in the pregnancy if there were birth defects, it was resoundly vetoed by the extreme right conservative, Guardianship Council. So Palin’s position on the issue is the same as Iran’s. It comes down to a rigid application of Biblical text in the most literal sense. It is anti-women in an era when being female in the free world should not be affected by the religious right as Palin promotes.. Saudi Arabia's restrictive law on abortion also prohibits abortion in the case or rape or incest, or of fetal impairment just like Sarah Palin’s position.	The McCain-Palin ticket states emphatically that abortion should be illegal, even in cases of rape, incest or severe birth defects, excepting only if the life of the mother is in danger. Palin calls abortion an "atrocity". She has promised to fight against Roe vs Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that allowed abortions. In this You Tube video there is no question remaining as to how Sarah Palin feels about abortion. Even though she talks about the empowerment of women, it does not apparently apply to abortion and a woman’s right to choose.
God Gave Us Oil	Muslim fundamentalists believe that God provides all, especially their huge oil and gas resources. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei believes "the only way to attain prosperity and progress is to rely on Islam."	Palin claims that it is God’s will to have her $30 billion pipeline in the state and she has asked the people of Alaska to pray that it comes to fruition. Watch this You Tube video as she implores people to follow God’s will.
Climate Change	In some middle eastern countries, there has been an attempt at trivializing the global crisis. Saudi Arabia was found to have imposed influence in playing down the factors in climate change in the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.	Palin absolutely believes that global warming and the climate crisis is totally the result of human activity. She chooses to dismiss any scientific facts that say otherwise. Palin also wants to drill for oil in Alaska even though experts claim there is not enough oil to justify such a project. She promotes surrendering to God’s will in what she claims is an oil rich state. It sounds exactly like the Saudis and others in the religious right.