Long-time crusader for ‘consumer rights’, and past and current third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader has issued a challenge to Barack Obama and John McCain: Visit a Mosque. Speaking in front of the Washington D.C. National Islamic Center on Friday, the capitol’s oldest Mosque, Nader called on both candidates to visit an American Mosque.

While recognizing that in a land with a separation between church and state, no candidate is required to visit a religious institution. Nader noted that both Obama and McCain have visited several Churches and Synagogues and that they should visit at least one Mosque before November 4 as a sign of respect and inclusion toward the Muslim-American community.

Nader noted that in these times of often fear toward Muslims, the future president should reach out to the community to show the American people that the civil rights of Muslims will be upheld.

The burden seems to be on Barack Obama. The candidate has spoke constantly about uniting people and reaching out against any barriers between peoples. Yet Muslims seem to be an exception to that effort at unity. Not only has Obama not visited a Mosque, he has not met with any Muslim leader and his own campaign website, trying to undermine rumors that he is a Muslim, calls the accusation a “smear”.

Many Muslim-Americans find it hard to believe that any presidential candidate would respond with the word “smear” to an inquiry that he were, say, Jewish. The ignoring of the Muslim community by McCain does not bother the community much seeing as how the Republicans have fallen out of favor and McCain has and continues to engage in rhetoric that Muslims find offensive: such as equating their faith with terrorists.

But Obama, who has abstained from such words, has hurt many in the community by refusing to reach out to them. It also appears to be a shunning of his heritage; the candidate’s paternal family is Muslim. Not only has Obama refused to meet with Muslims leaders but even his staff members often refuse to do so as well.

During the February Virginia primary, Obama’s staff only showed up at a Mosque when the Mosque officials lied to them and told them Hillary’s people were showing up. It could be that Obama means well toward the community, but, for fear of affirming any rumors that he’s a Muslim, the candidate is afraid of appearing in a Mosque. Neither candidates have as of yet responded to Nader’s challenge. They have one month before Election Day.

To read Nader’s press release.