The first day of the DNC convention was plagued with storms. The literal storm that hit Philadelphia was serious, with flash floods in some streets and power outages in various neighborhoods around the city. The political storms, however, were mostly tempests in teapots. Mostly.

As everybody knows by now, Debbie Wasserman Schultz was forced resign her position as DNC chair on Monday and was taken off the speaking schedule at the convention due to leaked emails that proved collusion with the press on the DNC’s part to undermine the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders, as well as offering coveted political positions to high-dollar donors. This was probably the only political storm of noteworthy size. But ultimately, since anyone with even the tiniest bit of intellectual honesty and observational abilities knew that the DNC was doing all it could ensure Clinton won the nomination and since we all know politics is corrupted by money every day, this wasn’t as big as some have made it out to be. My only hope is that Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been sufficiently disgraced that Bernie-backed progressive Tim Canova will be able to win his primary race against her and end up in the US Congress, where we desperately need more true progressives (which DWS most certainly is not).

Photo: Okla Elliott

The true tempest in a teapot was the booing and heckling by some Bernie Sanders supporters when he spoke to them early in the day and during his primetime speech on the convention’s main stage, particularly when he strongly endorsed Clinton for president of the United States. These people represent a tiny fraction of the convention goers and their voices were only barely heard — though they do deserve to be heard, but at precisely the volume they were. And that low volume level should be compared to the three-minute ecstatic standing ovation, replete with dozens of delegates crying, Sanders received when he stepped out on stage. He was and remains the beloved leader of millions of progressives in this country, and I imagine he’ll continue to be such a leader for years to come — though he’ll have even more influence than he previously did, due to his various political organizations he has announced he plans to start and due to his (likely) increased power in the US Senate, to say nothing of his massive public stature that will allow him to continue to bend the national political discourse to the left.

By any objective measure, the speeches given on Monday night were rousing and galvanizing. My social media feeds were a blur of statements like “Corey Booker is killing it!” or “I love you, Michelle!” or “Bernie is my hero!” and so forth, and having talked a few dozen friends and colleagues, they report the same.

When I was at the RNC convention, I reported back to The Citizens’ Voice that I predicted a bump in the polls for Trump and a slight improvement in his negatives. I likewise predicted the same for Clinton then, but after seeing the first night’s speeches and feeling the mood here in Philadelphia the day after, I predict an even larger bump for Clinton/Kaine than Trump/Pence enjoyed after last week.

The majority of his speech was focused on speaking to her accomplishments, her passions, and her desire to bring people together. He shared the impact she has had in his life and the positive change she will bring as president.

Towards the end of his time on stage, however, President Clinton made a comment about American Muslims that had absolutely no place in the rest of his thoughtful speech:

If you are a Muslim and you love America and freedom and you hate terror, stay here and help us win and make the future together. We want you.

This conditional statement targeted at American Muslims is both upsetting and unsettling for many reasons. Too often we hear that if you’re a good and happy Muslim, you can come here and be a part of society. But there’s a catch: you have to prove day in and day out that you aren’t one of the angry, violent Muslims. You’ll be accepted and allowed to exist, but only after suffering the scrutiny of your neighbors, inappropriate comments from elected officials, government surveillance, daily microaggressions and blatant racism and xenophobia.

Let’s get something straight here: Muslims do not have to prove they are good people because they identify as Muslim. Asking Muslims to “stay here” to “help us win” implies that Muslims are others who aren’t true Americans, and that they should help us, the real Americans, fight terror. Never mind the fact that the majority of domestic terrorist attacks are committed by non-Muslims.

American Muslims do not need to prove they “hate terror” and “love America.” That is not their primary function or responsibility. Believe it or not, Muslims are regular people who have their own lives and problems to attend to. 

Huma Abedin, who is currently the vice-chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, happens to be a Muslim. Does Abedin need to to prove that she “loves America and freedom” because of her faith? (The answer is “No!”)

President Clinton’s statement was likely intended to challenge the hateful rhetoric of the Trump campaign which is calling for a ban of Muslims, and highlight instead Hillary Clinton’s inclusive and progressive platform. Unfortunately, his comment simply alienates American Muslims and frames the conversation with the same Islamophobia that the Trump campaign encourages. 

American Muslims are just as American as any other person of faith. We should be able to talk about Muslims outside the context of “terrorism,” and the fact that this needs to be said shows just how much work still needs to be done to realize the full humanity and diversity of Muslims in this nation.