Last week, the Pew Research Center released the results of a nationwide poll indicating nearly one in five Americans believe President Obama is a Muslim. In this widely published poll, 18 percent of Americans appear to ignore or disregard the fact that Obama has always personally considered and publicly declared himself to be a Christian. Who can forget the Reverend Wright controversy of the 2008 election? This particular statistic is up from the 11 percent of Americans who believed he was Muslim in March 2009. Not surprisingly, 31 percent of Republicans believe him to be Muslim while only 27 percent believe him to be Christian. Also, a full 43 percent of Americans “don’t know” what his religion is.

But why? I don’t think it’s naïve or ridiculous to assume that most of that 18 percent don’t think that being Muslim is a positive attribute. These statistics, when coupled with the current controversy over the construction of the “Ground Zero Mosque” (and other mosques across America, such as the one being protested in Murfreesboro, TN) and placed in the context of post-9/11 America, illustrate the harrowing outlook a plurality of Americans seem to have about Islam.

Since the 9/11 attacks, there’s been a destructive, cancerous misconception sweeping America that all Muslims believe in the violent, anti-American sentiments those hijackers believed and that other Muslim extremists believe. Such generalizations are not only insulting and narrow-minded but also profoundly detrimental to America’s relationship with Islam, whether in the form of its American followers or its followers abroad.

Muslim extremists do not speak for all Muslims; does the KKK speak for all Protestant Christians? Just as the construction of a Christian church doesn’t automatically lead to its members joining the KKK or participating in protests of gay soldiers’ funerals, the construction of a mosque doesn’t automatically lead to the formation of a terrorist group.

There are anywhere between 2.3 and 7 million Muslims in America (depending on the source you consult), and their right to practice Islam is protected under the First Amendment. Muslims have made a positive contribution to the diverse makeup of this country and the vast majority of them are peaceful, patriotic, and don’t deserve to be painted with the same brush as Muslim extremists.

I guess what I’m getting at is this: Obama isn’t a Muslim, but even if he was, who cares?

Kirsten MacKay is a junior majoring in English and art history.