I want to preface this post by saying I am Christian, and more specifically Catholic. I’m proud to be one and consider my faith to be a huge part of who I am.

What’s sad about this whole topic is that I felt I needed to justify everything I am about to say by pointing out my Christian faith. What I’m about to say being pointed out by a someone of a different faith or no proclaimed faith wouldn’t be taken the same way.

Why? Because as someone who has the unintended fortune of belonging to a faith accepted by the American masses, I have the unequal advantage of belonging to what is viewed as the “moral right.” Because as someone who is Indian in descent but is also Christian, I am considered to be more acceptable to what people view as the American way. Because as soon as people find out that I am Catholic and not Hindu or Muslim, they relax because I belong to what they view is “normal.”

Because this country, despite being founded on principles of religious freedom and with an emphasis on separation of church and state, has a long history of simply ignoring that commitment. Because this country, despite proclaiming ideals of “religious freedom” is in fact only proclaiming freedom of the religion they believe is right.

This week, Ben Carson made headlines for saying that he “would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.” He followed that statement by saying that Islam itself was incompatible with the Constitution.

Well, Mr. Carson, last I checked, you are incompatible with the Constitution as well.

Being President of the United States of America is not, and should not be, dependent on religious affiliation. According to Article VI of the Constitution, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”

So obviously, Carson’s requirement for presidents to not be Muslim isn’t rooted in the Constitution, so where does it come from? Perhaps it comes from his view of America as a “Judeo-Christian” society. Perhaps it comes from the fact that nearly all of the US presidents have been Christians. 

Or perhaps it comes from the fact that people of the Islamic faith continue to be looked down upon, feared, and subjugated simply because of their faith. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and surrounding extremist actions in the Middle East, Muslims living in America have been viewed as threats for the actions of extremists claiming an allegiance to the writings of the Islamic faith.

And time and time again, innocent people have suffered because of this view of Islam. My friends and I get upset about being dress coded over running shorts and tank tops. What if you were dress coded because you were wearing a hijab, a symbol of your religious beliefs? My friends and I get upset for not being allowed to bring baby powder to football games. What if we were arrested, cuffed, and interrogated because we brought a clock to school simply because of our ethnicity and name? I get irritated with long airplane flights and security lines. What if I was taunted and cursed at during a flight simply because of my religion?

These are real things that happen. They are not far away. This is religious discrimination that is not occurring on another continent far removed from our reality, but in America. The girl who was dress coded for her hijab? Her name is Nashala Hearn and she lives in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where she was dress coded and suspended twice for wearing her hijab to school when she was 12 years old. That’s a three hour drive from my house. The boy arrested for bringing a clock to school? His name is Ahmed Mohamed, he’s 14 years old, and he was arrested for bringing a clock to school because his teacher thought it was a bomb. Even after he was cleared by police, he remained suspended from school from his original punishment. He lives in Irving, Texas, approximately 30 minutes from my house. During a flight from Chicago to Washington, Northwestern student Tahera Ahmad was denied an unopened can of soda because she “could use it as a weapon” and when she expressed complaint, was cursed at by a fellow passenger. 

Can you imagine any of that? Because I know I can’t. I can’t imagine it because I have been born into that advantaged crowd of Christians that doesn’t know what it’s like to face discrimination based on their faith.

So yes, maybe I am lucky that I belong to the faith that this country seems to embrace. Maybe I should just shut up and enjoy it. Maybe I should just look past it.

But when I see my friends and my peers disrespected because of their faith, when I see my friends and my peers look past bigoted comments because it’s simply the way it is, when I see headlines of innocent people being jailed or assaulted because of their faith, I simply cannot. I can’t look past it.

What if it was me? We want to stop the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. We want to stop the threat ISIS has become to Christians around the world. We point out the discrimination of people based on their faith and how horrible that is.

But to that I say, are we really that much better? Yes, obviously the violence and strife occurring in the Middle East because of religious persecution is nothing like what we see in America. I think it’s safe to assume that even those of a minority faith in America are much more protected than in other areas of the world.

But it’s the principle of the thing, isn’t it? When Kim Davis was arrested for refusing to give marriage licenses to gay couples, despite gay marriage being legal in the entire country, Carson stepped up and called upon the government to “protect” officials openly rebelling against Marriage Equality, in the name of the religious beliefs and America’s “Judeo-Christian” origins. (great opinion piece here). Carson and many other conservatives in the country have pointed out the idea of “religious freedom” in calling for Davis’s release.

So where’s that idea of religious freedom, Dr. Carson? You believe that Kim Davis should be able to practice the law as she sees fit, according to her religious beliefs, but how would you feel about a governmental official of the Islamic faith only conducting his job as his faith saw fit? You believe that America should run according to its supposed Judeo-Christian origins? Well, Islam definitely originated from Judaism, so where’s your impassioned support of Islamic religious freedom?

Right. Because that specific brand of religious freedom within government is restricted to what is considered American. What is considered to be not a threat. It is restricted to Christianity.

I’m sure there will be some out there who believe I am decrying my Christian beliefs for pointing this out. I am not blaming Christianity for this. I’m blaming those who would use Christianity as a tool for discrimination.

I do not believe that all Christians think this way, and I do not believe that all Americans think this way. But it is a problem, and it is a problem that Muslims in this country have to deal with every day.

For years of President Barack Obama’s presidency, this theory of Obama being a Muslim because of his middle name “Hussein” and his upbringing have tarnished the people’s view of our current president. First of all, Obama has said he is not Muslim, and that he is Christian, and any further talk on the matter is mindless speculation in my opinion.

But my question is, why does it matter? The President of the United States is not required to be Christian. He is not required to believe in God. He is not required to pass a religious test in order to take his place in the Oval Office.

Muslims are not bad people. Muslims are not evil. Muslims are not the enemy. So why. does. it. matter.

I know logically that this speculation is the work of idiocy. But it bothers me so much. You want to know why? Because accusing Obama of being a Muslim, MAKES IT SEEM LIKE ISLAM IS UNACCEPTABLE. All the speculation, all of the questions, the idea that Obama being Muslim would tarnish his reputation, makes me sick. Not because it’s idiotic, but because it makes it seem like Islam is a disgusting matter that has to be swept under the rug.

There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. That is 1.6 billion people who should not be judged based on the actions of the few. That is 1.6 billion people who have the right to religious freedom, just like the rest of us.

So I want to say I’m sorry to my friends who are Muslim. I want to say sorry to any of you who have been treated badly because of the color of your skin, or because of your name, or because of your faith. I want you to know that you are not any less because of your beliefs. I want you to know that I want better for you.

I want America to reflect true religious freedom and the separation of church and state that was actually a foundation of our republic.  I want to see the America that is based on acceptance, a true “melting pot” not just a country that claims that term in the introduction of every high school history textbook. And I want to see an America that treats the girl walking down the school hallway wearing a cross necklace the same way it would treat a girl walking down that same school hallway wearing a hijab.