As we near the end of 2010, Time Magazine published their “Top 10 Everything of 2010“.
Among the topics was the Top 10 Religion Stories of 2010, which predominantly featured stories related to Christianity or Islam (or sometimes Christianity vs. Islam). The one exception came in at number nine on the list: Obama’s skipping Darbar Sahib (aka the Golden Temple) in Amritsar:
Darbar Sahib (aka the Golden Temple) -- time.com
The Golden Temple in Amritsar is the center of the Sikh religion and, at one point in the planning of the U.S. President’s November trip to India, it had been viewed a likely place for Obama to visit. However, American politics may have gotten in the way. Though the White House has not acknowledged it, the requirement that men cover their heads when they enter the Golden Temple may have scotched the visit. In the U.S., Sikhs are very often mistaken for Muslims — and, when Islamophobia enters, unhappy consequences ensue. That was probably one factor too many for an American politican already burdened with false but unstanchable scuttlebutt that he is a secret Muslim.
A dubious honor, to be sure, and more so because the alleged reasoning pandered to American Islamophobia.
americanturban.com 