Barack Obama and Benjamin Franklin: What's in a Semitic Name?

Barack Hussein Obama. What an American name, eh? Not convinced? Still a little paranoid about a candidate whose not a George? Still a little edgy about a man whose middle name, gasp, is one shared by the ruthless Saddam Hussein? Of course so, for the same reason you would never have voted for Joseph or a Joe because he shares the name of the ruthless Joseph Stalin, right? It's too bad that Hussein is nothing more than a Semitic name, just like Abraham, just like Benjamin, and just like John. Remember that the term "Semitic" while most often thought of as being used exlcusively for Jews (as in anti-semitic) is actually inclusive of all peoples who speak a Semitic language. Today the two main living languages within this language family are Arabic and Hebrew, so therefore Semitic Peoples are commonly thought of as the Jews(regardless of their nationality) and Arabs (regardless of their religion: Islam, Christianity, Judaism, etc.) So if it turns out that the election is between Obama(Semitic first and middle name) McCain(Semitic first name) and Nader(himself an actual Arab-American), turns out no one should vote, for fear they vote for someone with a dangerously foreign Semitic name, right? Hopefully you aren't feverishly nodding your head in agreement, and rather are curious about the meaning and history of both Obama's name and other presidents whose names are Semitic in origin. Check out Professor Juan Cole's blog about the history behind not only this future president's Semitic name, but also behind the names of other American presidents and national heroes. Here are a few excerpts taken from his blog www.juancole.com from February 27, 2008

"I want to say something about Barack Hussein Obama's name. It is a name to be proud of. It is an American name. It is a blessed name. It is a heroic name, as heroic and American in its own way as the name of General Omar Nelson Bradley or the name of Benjamin Franklin. And denigrating that name is a form of racial and religious bigotry of the most vile and debased sort. It is a prejudice against names deriving from Semitic languages!"

"Barack is a Semitic word meaning "to bless" as a verb or "blessing" as a noun. In its Hebrew form, barak, it is found all through the Bible. It first occurs in Genesis 1:22: "And God blessed (ḇāreḵə ) them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth."

"Now let us take the name "Hussein." It is from the Semitic word, hasan, meaning "good" or "handsome." Husayn is the diminutive, affectionate form."

"Barack Obama's middle name is in honor of his grandfather, Hussein, a secular resident of Nairobi. Americans may think of Saddam Hussein when they hear the name, but that is like thinking of Stalin when you hear the name Joseph. There have been lots of Husseins in history, from the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, a hero who touched the historian Gibbon, to King Hussein of Jordan, one of America's most steadfast allies in the 20th century. The author of the beloved American novel, The Kite Runner, is Khaled Hosseini."

"Let us take Benjamin Franklin. His first name is from the Hebrew Bin Yamin, the son of the Right (hand), or son of strength, or the son of the South (yamin or right has lots of connotations). The "Bin" means "son of," just as in modern colloquial Arabic. Bin Yamin Franklin is not a dishonorable name because of its Semitic root. By the way, there are lots of Muslims named Bin Yamin."

C'mon people. Wake up. Even if you prefer Hillary or McCain or even Huckabee, don't be a part of this ignorance. Don't give in to racial and religious prejudice, fear mongering, and pathetic attempts to stir up hatred. Obama is an American. Obama is a Christian. (not that it should matter in our supposedly secular nation of acceptance of all faiths) But most importantly, Obama is, and will be, the change that our country desperately needs.