Obama condemned Quran burning only as a security threat, not as bigotry

Evidence

As this lopsided debate unfolded, President Obama qualified his earlier statements in support of the project by saying that while he affirms the religious rights of all people, he was not in saying this commenting “on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there.” Obama was quickly adapting to right-wing pressure; when Gainesville, Florida, minister Terry Jones announced his plan to burn the Koran on September 11, Obama did not argue that such an act was offensive, that it constituted an attack on religious freedom, or that it was reminiscent of Ku Klux Klan cross burnings in the South, but that it threatened “national security” and would put US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan “in harm’s way”: “This could increase the recruitment of individuals who’d be willing to blow themselves up in American cities or European cities.” Obama’s summoning the specter of suicide bombers in America’s cities only further stirred the pot of Islamophobic hatred. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 524 (#expands, via linked claim)

Polls in mid-2010 showed that close to 20 percent of Americans believed that Obama was a “secret Muslim” and that this made him an unfit president. Rather than challenge the racist assumptions of his accusers, Obama chose instead to emphasize his Christian credentials. This posture only gave credence to the notion that there is something wrong with being Muslim. In short, with a few exceptions (such as Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to be elected to Congress), the liberal imperialists in the Democratic Party pandered to the far right on this question. It is therefore not surprising that the right was able to set the terms of the discussion. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 525 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: The Obama White House framed Quran burning as a security threat rather than bigotry; Obama framed even anti-Islamic acts in national-security terms rather than religious freedom. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 524; Obama legitimated anti-Muslim sentiment by emphasizing his Christianity rather than rebutting it. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 525

Broader Connections

• The Obama White House framed Quran burning as a security threat rather than bigotry #corroborates (1.00)
• Obama framed even anti-Islamic acts in national-security terms rather than religious freedom. #expands (0.90) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 524
• Obama legitimated anti-Muslim sentiment by emphasizing his Christianity rather than rebutting it. #expands (0.75) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 525