We are so ignorant of our neighbors, including those of our neighbors who are not especially well-liked or good neighbors.

Hussein is the name of Muhammed's grandson, son of his daughter Fatima and Ali, fourth caliph and first imam of Islam. He opposed the person appointed to the caliphate after his father's murder, and was himself killed in battle at Karbala. He is considered a saint by the Shi'a Muslims, and is certainly revered by the Sunnis as the grandson of Muhammed, and something of a heroic and tragic figure. He is not depicted as a villain.

More recently, a man named Hussein was King of Jordan, a man who grew in his office from a young hothead to a champion of his people. He (and his son) are Hashemites, with a real claim to the Emirate of Mecca, even though it was hijacked by the Saudis after WWI. How different the world might be if the symbolism of that emirate were transferred to this family.

Hussein is a common name to give to a boy child in the Muslim tradition. If an American names his son "John", do we assume the child is named for John Wilkes Booth rather than John Wayne, John Kennedy, John Glenn, great-grandpa John, or John Beloved of Jesus?

I wish Obama would talk about his name as an educational opportunity for Americans.