No one should question whether McCain must reject hatred. The reality is that he is not running for the presidency of a country club where Jews, blacks, Muslims, women, or gays can be excluded. The United States was established as a shining city on a hill, and men such as Parsley are attempting to weaken our basic greatness by encouraging hatred and fear. Housed within our country’s borders is a remarkable variety of people, reflecting the diversity of the world. While the worst of us will celebrate divisions to prove our own “superiority,” the best of us will find a way to bring us all together.

I cannot consider Parsley a man of God. By labeling Islam a “false religion” and calling for its destruction – thus denigrating a 1400-year old religion with over 1.6 billion adherents, stretching across world cultures, spiritual perspectives, and physical locales, including roughly 4 million in this country – Parsley demonstrates both idiocy and his own spiritual immaturity. It is the spiritually immature who are the most vocal about condemning others.

Furthermore, Parsley’s words are un-American and un-Christian. Having been taught by Christian nuns in Kashmir, nuns who lived and imbibed the teachings of Christianity with deep humility and sincere respect for their Muslim students, I cannot recognize this Christianity in Parsley, just as I cannot recognize Islam in the actions of extremists committing crimes in the name of Islam.

Unfortunately, Islam has become an election issue. McCain has consistently placed Islam on the election agenda and portrayed himself as somehow “tougher” on those Islamic groups and ideologies that threaten the United States. His ubiquitous pronouncements of “radical Islamic extremism,” while emotionally-stirring, fail to adequately or realistically describe complex phenomenon. In addition to being simply redundant – radical is by definition extreme – he is using fear and confusing rhetoric to convince Americans that only his leadership can protect us from “radical Islamic extremism.” Coming from a man as intelligent, courageous, and politically nuanced as John McCain, this attempt is surprising and unfortunate.

Especially because he consistently employs strong rhetoric against “the Islamic threat” as a distinguishing aspect of his candidacy, it is even more critical for McCain to distance himself from men like Parsley. He must de-link Islam and extremism and clearly state that this conflation is incorrect and inflammatory.

As Muslims, we remain an integral part of the American mainstream. There are Muslims in all levels of American government, including UN Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and OIC representative Sada Cumber, who represent our interests to the world and help keep this country safe and prosperous. There are Muslims who entertain us, like Mos Def and Art Blakey, Muhammad Ali and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. All of these people help make America a better place.

As an immigrant, I love the United States deeply. In fact, it is sometimes difficult for native-born Americans to understand the profundity of my gratitude to this country and my pride in being American. America welcomed me warmly, accepted me for who I was (and what I believed), and enabled me to truly enjoy "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." I worry, however, that men such as Rod Parsley are striving to weaken the greatness of this country's character - a greatness based on inclusivity and mutual respect - in favor of exclusivity and fear. Let us all challenge those who are intolerant and militant in their religious interpretations, regardless of their religious affiliation. The time is ripe for John McCain to set an example and let America be America again.