Rather than focus on persuasion techniques to alter attitudes, promising strategies that employ psychology’s rigorous empiricism aim to reduce modern and institutional racism by changing discriminatory behaviors:

Recategorization of schema (mental shortcuts our brains take because we constantly encounter so much information in the world) into larger categories to reduce stereotypes and prejudices. For example, expanding the category of “Muslim” into a larger umbrella of “American.”

Controlled processing to train ourselves to suppress and go beyond its ingrained societal stereotypes and mindfully learn tolerance. Some scientists argue that we all learn our cultural stereotypes, but some develop the ability for controlled processing. An example of such training is to examine an office environment and consider how a handicapped person might work in that space.

Improve intergroup contact in order to undermine prejudice attitudes. History has illustrated this is only productive under certain circumstances: the groups interact on equal status; people have one-on-one contact with members of the different groups; they cooperate and not compete; and they interact in a helpful social climate where authority or the norm encourages contact. Past examples of intergroup exchange, such as initial desegregation in public schools and in the United States Army, lacked such conditions; however, potential for heterogeneous groups to work together for a common goal in harmonious environment exists today for sports teams, coworkers, and classmates.

In Boston, Massachusetts, I heard Sen. Barack Obama defend Islam and Muslims-and personally thanked him for his comments. He opened the topic of the insidious rumors falsely questioning his faith by first stating they were an insult to Islam and to Muslims. He stated that they were not just insulting and disrespectful of a religion, but a people. It was a clear defense of Islam. In Columbia, South Carolina, he also defended Islam in my presence at his South Carolina primary eve rally. On CNN’s Compassion Forum, he also spoke clearly about Islam.

The choice in November can’t be clearer for Muslim women. Obama’s speech in Albuquerque, New Mexico to working women reaffirmed his feminist credentials. He also values civil liberties as a constitutional law scholar, peace, and ending the inhumanity at Guantánamo Bay. Such resonate with both Muslim men and women.

I can’t agree with the girls in Detroit’s decisions to go to the media. Harming Barack — someone they support — doesn’t help the Muslim American community or its interests. I’d rather see Guantánamo’s prison closed then have token symbols of Islam visible in campaigns.

As someone who has been to dozens of Obama events, I’ve come to realize that the numerous volunteers working in any capacity are not handheld. They are supervised by staff, but especially at the now-huge scale of Barack’s national events since South Carolina, there is scope for volunteers to do as they wish.

In canvassing, they could violate the law and stuff mailbox with literature (their candidate’s or opponents). In phone banking, especially from home, they can say he anything to their recipients. A volunteers own personal agenda, or what they thought was good judgment but wasn’t, as illustrated here but also when a Clinton volunteer in Iowa forwarded the rumor — laced e-mails. Giving grassroots volunteers such trust represents the Obama campaign’s “new politics.” He has a million volunteers, there was trouble with two.

Furthermore, thousands of people attend his televised rallies. No one has a right to stand behind him on stage. These girls’ friends were asked and they asked if they could also.

How many hijab-clad women surrounded McCain? The Muslim community’s decision to go for Bush in 2000 and 2004 was disastrous. Let’s not saddle ourselves into another administration… unless the term ‘Islamofascism’ sounded good to you the first time around, and you want your leader ignorant of the differences between Shias and Sunnis.

Obama’s story reads very much like many American Muslims’ stories. Many of us are first, second, and third generation immigrants and we are still outsiders in America. Obama is the son of an immigrant and very much follows the similar trajectory of eking out a comfortable identity in America like many immigrants, people of color, and/or Muslims do. Let us benefit from someone with those experiences.

If numerous op-eds should be penned about the rumors about Obama’s faith, let them consider stopping being Muslim a “smear.” Obama is reaffirming his Christian faith more aggressively than Muslims would like; however, consider that the rumors about his faith were bundled with attacks on his patriotism. Saying he is Muslim wasn’t damaging as in itself, but combined with lies about disrespecting the flag and such successfully drew fear in many American voters.

We should be most concerned about the ease with which unpatriotic is superimposed upon Muslims, and how both attacks function as a guise for racism against Obama.