When I was a young voter, I was greatly impressed with Gary Hart's idealism. His positions appealed to me and I was prepared to vote for him in the primaries. That was all ruined by his claim that he was not having an affair, and his challenge to the media to catch him if he were. Which, of course, they did, exposing him not only as a cheat, but as a liar. Needless to say, Mr. Hart lost my vote. Not because he was having an affair -- God knows enough of us have succumbed to that temptation -- but because he lied about it. If he lied about one thing, I reasoned, how could I be sure all the rest of his positions were true reflections of his personal sentiment? I wasn't about to vote for someone I couldn't trust to work toward all the wonderful things he was proposing.

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The Question: John McCain's spiritual guide, televangelist Rod Parsley, calls Islam a "false religion" that should be "destroyed." Should McCain renounce Parsley? Will Islam be an issue in this year's U.S. presidential election?

Televangelist Rod Parsley represents a tradition of racial, political and religious bigotry that has plagued American -- and other -- societies for centuries. From anti-miscegenation laws, to McCarthyism, to the current wave of intolerance toward Muslims and Islam, xenophobia has always been a devil in our midst, even in times when the beauties of diversity were trumpeted and tolerance, mutual respect and acceptance were being touted as the ideals we should strive for.

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The Question: How should Barack Obama have responded to inflammatory remarks made by his former pastor, Dr. Jeremiah Wright? Are you responsible for what your spiritual leader says from the pulpit?

The relationship between a politician and his avowed spiritual mentor is, naturally, like any other relationship. While a spiritual adviser can have profound effect on an individual, it would be nothing short of miraculous if Obama, Bush, or any of the other politicians who have declared they benefit from spiritual guidance from a particular religious leader, were to agree 100% with everything their advisor said. Nonetheless, when a spiritual adviser to a very public figure makes egregious comments, it would be wise for that politician to at least say, "I disagree with that particular statement."

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The Question: E-mail: Blessing or Curse?

Like many things, E-mail is neither good nor bad; it can be a force for good or a force for bad, depending on how we use it.

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The recent Pew study that revealed over 40% of Americans have switched religious affiliation also reveals the vibrancy and viability of American ideals concerning religious freedom and individual empowerment. Many countries have laws guaranteeing freedom of religious practice and many cultures speak glowingly of religious freedom, but without the social support to make it a reality, rhetoric about religious freedom is often nothing more than just that -- rhetoric. That over 40% of Americans felt secure enough in America's culture of religious tolerance to switch or drop their religious affiliation is a testament that our society not only has laws protecting religious freedom, that it not only speaks of religious freedom, but has also established a social atmosphere that makes personal religious sincerity and integrity truly possible.

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Incorporating exceptional laws into the judicial system is a bad idea, whether it be Shari'ah, Halakha, or any other religious laws. The creation of a multi-tier legal system, with some laws for "average" citizens and other laws for Muslim, Jewish, Mormon, Hindu, Catholic, etc., citizens is a gross violation of the principles that the government should not intrude itself in religious matters, and that all citizens have the same rights and protections under the law.

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There are days when I dread opening the newspaper. The report of a 20-year-old Afghani man (dare I call him boy) being sentenced to death for reading an internet article about the possibility of women's rights to multiple marriages within an Islamic framework, and distributing it to his class, is just one example of why. There is so much wrong with what happened to this young man, not just in terms of basic human and civil rights, but also in terms of blatant violations of Islamic morality and legal codes, that I don't even know where to begin.

First of all... the issue of freedom of information. The idea that reading an article and distributing it for discussion could be an affront to Islam is ludicrous. The Qur'an is filled with injunctions to study history, to learn from the successes and mistakes of others. The book itself tells stories of attempted seduction, theft, murder, arrogance and greed. If we were to read nothing but what is currently considered legal, whole portions of the Qur'an itself would have to be excluded from our library.

Couple that with the Prophet's injunction to seek knowledge even unto China (which at the time was not a hotbed of Islamic learning...) and it becomes obvious that we are to learn from whatever source we can, and that no topic is off limits for discussion.

Even if Sayed had energetically propounded the opinions expressed in the article, that is no sin.

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The Prophet Muhammad taught us that we should chose our leaders from among the best of us. Leaders are expected to display the characteristics of a good Muslim, including humility and self-control, commitment to consultative government, and dedication to compassion, care for the less well off, and a peaceful society in which all can prosper.

I can well imagine that many of you reading this column are shaking your heads and wondering where one might find such a leader in the Muslim world. Certainly the rulers of many Muslim countries fail miserably when compared to the standards Islam holds up for leadership. As do many of the self-proclaimed leaders of Islam, like Osama Bin Laden or Ahmed Yassin.

This failure in leadership, aside from the fact that it has resulted in horrific violence and atrocious living conditions for millions and millions of Muslims around the globe, is also responsible for much of the rising tide of Islamophobia that plagues certain groups in the West.

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The Qur'an describes Satan's fatal flaw as that of pride. "I am better than him!" Satan cries when God would have him bow down before Adam. Satan's pride, and his hurt ego, lead him to defy God, and to a host of other sins, including a couple of the deadly ones...envy and anger. Today too, it seems there is a plethora of ills arising from the same sin.

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While I can't presume to predict what directions the Jewish community will take in the future, it does strike me that life as a member of a minority religious group is far different -- far easier -- now than it was even twenty years ago.

When I was a child, world history started in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), but quickly moved from there to Europe, with a brief nod at the Pharaohs and Cleopatra (only because she interacted with Europe) and a quick mention of Constantinople as this annoying military power that threatened European hegemony. The Crusades were again nameless, faceless Infidels. China, India and the rest of Asia, Africa, South America, even Eastern Europe received no attention at all.

In contrast, my children's World History classes have included units on China and the Middle East. Their Social Studies classes have had unit on Africa, and research papers where they were required to pick a country NOT in Europe and then make a presentation to their class.

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