I can think of a few reasons.
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim elected to Congress and the first African-American elected to the House from Minnesota, said Thursday that when some accuse President Barack Obama of being a Muslim, it’s “as if it’s something to be ashamed of or wrong,” but there’s really “nothing wrong with being a Muslim.”
“A not-so-uncommon form of attacking the president has been to question not only where he was born, but his faith, and often that’s by saying he’s a Muslim. Can you talk to me about that, and as a Muslim-American, how does that make you feel?” a reporter asked at the press conference by the American Muslim Democratic Caucus at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.
“It, of course, has been said that the president is a Muslim. In fact, it’s not so much said as it’s made as an accusation, as if it’s something to be ashamed of or wrong,” Ellison said.
“We think that there’s nothing wrong with being a Muslim at all, and in fact, I don’t think I can improve on what [former Secretary of State] Colin Powell said about it, which is … when President Obama was elected the first time, he endorsed him, and he said, the question is not whether or not Obama is a Muslim – he’s a Christian, and he is one, but there’s nothing wrong with being a Muslim,” he said.