Egypt After 2025: Navigating a Critical Inflection Point    Spot Gold, futures slips on Thursday, July 17th    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Egypt expresses condolences to Iraq over fire tragedy    Egypt, Oman discuss environmental cooperation    Egypt's Environment Minister attends AMCEN conference in Nairobi    At London 'Egypt Day', Finance Minister outlines pro-investment policies    Sukari Gold Mine showcases successful public–private partnership: Minister of Petroleum    Egypt's FRA chief vows to reform business environment to boost investor confidence    Egyptian, Belarusian officials discuss drug registration, market access    Syria says it will defend its territory after Israeli strikes in Suwayda    Pakistan names Qatari royal as brand ambassador after 'Killer Mountain' climb    Health Ministry denies claims of meningitis-related deaths among siblings    Sri Lanka's expat remittances up in June '25    EU–US trade talks enter 'decisive phase', German politician says    Egypt's Health Min. discusses drug localisation with Sandoz    Needle-spiking attacks in France prompt government warning, public fear    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Korea Culture Week in Egypt to blend K-Pop with traditional arts    Egypt, France FMs review Gaza ceasefire efforts, reconstruction    CIB finances Giza Pyramids Sound and Light Show redevelopment with EGP 963m loan    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Russell Vought's nomination should be rejected
Published in Al-Ahram Weekly on 15 - 06 - 2017

While most of Washington was eagerly awaiting former FBI director James Comey's Thursday appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee, they may have missed an important confirmation hearing that occurred a day earlier. On Wednesday, Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's nominee for deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) appeared before the Senate Budget Committee where he was subjected to stiff questioning by Senator Bernie Sanders.
At issue were a number of statements Vought had made in support of Wheaton College's decision, last year, to suspend and then fire a tenured African American professor, Larycia Hawkins. The reason: Wheaton College is a Christian school and Hawkins, who is Christian, not only donned a hijab in a gesture of solidarity with America's Muslim community but then later declared that Christians and Muslims “worship the same God”.
In an article defending Wheaton's action, Vought argued that Hawkins' views were in err since “Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology, they do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned.”
At Vought's confirmation hearing, Senator Sanders read the above quote and then asked the nominee, “Do you believe that statement is Islamophobic?”
Vought responded, “Absolutely not, Senator. I'm a Christian and I believe in a Christian set of principles based on my faith. That post [the one quoted by Sanders]... was to defend my alma mater, Wheaton College, a Christian school...”
Sanders: “Do you believe people in the Muslim religion stand condemned?”
Vought: “Again Senator, I'm a Christian and I wrote that piece in accordance with the statement of faith at Wheaton College.”
Sanders: “What about Jews? Do they stand condemned too?”
Vought: “Senator, I'm a Christian...”
Sanders: “I understand that you are a Christian, but this country is made up of people who are not just [Christian]... there are other people of different religions in this country... In your judgment, do you think that people who are not Christian are going to be condemned?”
Vought: “... As a Christian, I believe that all individuals are made in the image of God and are worthy of dignity and respect regardless of their religious beliefs. I believe that as a Christian that's how I should treat all individuals”.
Sanders: “You think that your statement... [that] they do not know God because they rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned, do you think that's respectful of other religions?”
Sanders concluded his questioning saying: “I would simply say, Mr Chairman, that this nominee is not really someone who this country is supposed to be about.”
Following this exchange, Sanders was attacked for what one National Review writer termed, a “disgraceful and unconstitutional line of questioning” and in a few more mainstream publications for “imposing a religious test for public office”.
I cannot agree with Sanders' critics. He is right. Vought is not what America is “supposed to be about” and he is not fit to serve as deputy director of the OMB for two important reasons.
In the first place, it is Vought, not Sanders, who has used a religious test to support the firing of a tenured professor. His demonstrated intolerance is a disturbing trait for someone in public service. Vought may claim that all are “worthy of dignity and respect regardless of their religious beliefs”, but when it came to Professor Hawkins, a fellow Christian, Vought behaved quite differently, precisely because her description of her faith did not comport with his narrow interpretation of Christian theology.
Secondly, the OMB is the office in the White House that not only helps the president develop his budget, it also advises agencies on how to implement their programmes in accordance with the priorities set by the administration. To have a deputy director of OMB who has not only expressed intolerance towards those who do not share his interpretation of his faith, but who has also demonstrated this intolerance in practice, is worrisome. This behaviour calls into question his ability to implement policies and disperse resources without prejudice.
One wonders if we would even be having this discussion if the nominee were a Christian who claimed, as some have, that their faith holds: that Jews are condemned because they killed Jesus; or that Black people are the descendants of Noah's son Ham marked by God for their sin; or that women are inferior to men; or that gays are condemned, etc. Of course, individuals have the right to hold such beliefs, but when seeking a position of public trust aren't we entitled to know whether these beliefs will impact their judgements?
As the ACLU noted in its comment on this controversial nomination, “Religious freedom is such a fundamental liberty that the framers of our constitution enshrined it in the First Amendment. That's why it's so disturbing that Trump continues to pack his administration with appointees like Russell Vought, whose views threaten that very freedom... We know that diversity is one of our nation's greatest strengths, and it is vitally important that Americans have confidence that their public servants will serve our entire nation in good faith.”
Senator Sanders is right. At issue is not Vought's Christian faith or his theology. It is his intolerance for the faiths of others, including a fellow Christian whose termination he supported because he did not agree with her theology. His nomination should be rejected.
The writer is president of the Arab American Institute.


Clic here to read the story from its source.