(Reuters Photo)

Some of the reasons I am frightened are the facts like those of many others in America, Muslims and non-Muslims; she is the governor of a remote state with more moose than people, before that she was the mayor of a town of 5,000; she has only travelled abroad once and seems to know little about the world, we don't know where she stands on the issues; her personal life is mired in controversy, she has the tendency to be petty and power-hungry; she has never lived in a major city, she has a limited experience with ethnic and racial minorities, she believes man has no role in global warming and her academic record is sub-par.

However, as a Muslim, I am thinking about more than the above stated issues. I applaud Palin for choosing life and having four or five children and admire the traditionalism of her family life. She calls herself a hockey mom, and while this is no qualification for the highest office in the land, I am a firm believer in youth sports. These things do not trouble me, what does trouble me I dare say, is her religious background and the churches she attended.

It may seem odd that a Muslim in America would be troubled by someone else's religion given the fact that it is Islam that many Americans are troubled by and Obama is losing votes because many think he is a Muslim when he is not. But, I am troubled.

Pentecostalism?

America is a largely Christian nation; we have had 42 Protestant presidents and one Catholic, and all four of the main candidates this time around are Christians (McCain and Biden are Catholic and Obama a Protestant). So, my issue is not that Palin is a Christian; rather it is the particular brand of Christianity she has been affiliated with her whole life. 

Pentecostalism is only about a century old but it is the fastest growing branch of Christianity in America and throughout the world. Its hallmark is having a strict interpretation of the Bible and lively worship services in which believers speak in "tongues" after supposedly being anointed by what is known as the holy spirit. Of late, Pentecostals have also become big supporters of "prosperity theology", meaning that believers should be rewarded with riches. They have also championed many conservative causes in America.

It is on the issue of Islam where Pentecostals and Palin worry me though. If one were to look at the biggest haters of Islam in the leadership of American Christianity, the majority of them are Pentecostals. Such as Rev. John Hagee of Christians United for Israel , Rev. Rod Parsley ("The fact is that America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion (Islam) destroyed, and I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore," Parsley states in his book Silent No More) Pat Robertson, who once claimed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was "an absolute wild-eyed fanatic … a robber and a brigand" and on other occasions declared Islam to be Satanic is also a Pentecostal. Pentecostal churches across America regularly hold pro-war rallies and are draped with American flags while the pastors and church members deride Muslims in worship services. The Pentecostal run Trinity Broadcast Network routinely holds anti-Muslim programming for the world to see. Pentecostals also make up the most fervent supporters of Christian Zionism.

Heartbeat Away From A Presidency

McCain is 72 and has had cancer three times and this means that Palin would be a heartbeat away from a presidency held by a frail man. (Reuters Photo)

As a Pentecostal how much of these beliefs does Palin share? What does she know about Islam and who did she learn it from?  In a recorded speech she declared US soldiers to be on a "mission from God" in Iraq. What is this mission? Does she subscribe to the Parsley theory? If she would open herself up to media interviews, and not be protected from questioning as she has thus far, we may get the answers to some of these questions.

McCain is 72 and has had cancer three times and this means that Palin would be a heartbeat away from a presidency held by a frail man. What would this mean for Muslims? How will her religious teachings affect her view on civil liberties towards Muslims?  Could a nightmare scenario of Muslims being rounded up in America, until now thought by me to be impossible, become a possibility under a Palin administration? If she believes the troops in Iraq are on God's Mission then will she send soldiers on other "Godly Missions" to other Muslim lands? From where I am sitting Palin is bad news for Muslims and I can only make duah that she does not get her hands on the levers of power.