Dr. Mehmet Oz, who you might know better as the host of the morning talk show The Dr. Oz Show contested The Republican Nomination and ran for a Senate Seat this past year.
Dr. Oz is a 62-year-old American and a retired cardiothoracic surgeon. Besides that, he has been quite versatile when it comes to the profession and has played a prominent role in U.S. politics. He has also been credited as the most influential Muslim from the U.S.
His role and all other aspects will be discussed in the article, but what matters most is the question regarding Oz’s religion. Is he a Muslim?
What is Dr. Oz’s religion? Is he a Muslim?
Before diving into the topic you should be aware of Dr. Oz’s position in the world of American Muslims who are a minority community in America. Dr. Oz is one of those minority leaders who have a high profile in general politics but they fail when it comes to being the voice of the community.
All you’re going to know dates back to a 2012 interview, Faces of America, in which he opened up about his sect, either Islam or not, and about his parents.
Dr. Oz is the son of Turkish-American parents having different identities when it comes to religion. His father was a strict Muslim but his mother was a secular Kemalist. Oz put light on his beliefs and declared that they are a blend of Islamic Sufism and Swedenborgianism. When it comes to practicing he follows Hinduism, as he does transcendental meditation.
Recently in 2022, Dr. Mehmet Oz once again was interviewed in which he had a productive conversation about religion.
When asked if he was a Muslim and his perspective on Muslims’ beliefs. Dr. Oz said that he is a secular Muslim and that his wife and children are Christians. Regarding the role of beliefs in politics, he claimed that he does not support religious extremism intruding into politics.
Notably, Dr. Oz made it clear that Sharia Law would never come to America as he finds Sharia Law a harsh version of Islamic laws, destroying secularity.
The interviewer gained Dr. Oz’s stance regarding America’s freedom if it was based on Judeo-Christian principles. He replied in affirmation and supported the fact and regarded it as ‘demonstrably true.’
Political Understanding of Dr. Oz
Analyzing Dr. Oz’s behavior as a politician you would notice that he is a hypocrite. On the contrary, it becomes hard to claim that Dr. Oz does not know about anti-Muslim bigotry is wrong. Furthermore, American Muslims find no ecstasy when it comes to Dr. Oz being the elected Senate member, they want a better candidate to represent them.
The U.S former president, Donald Trump hates Muslims as his comments portrayed Muslims as a disgraced sect residing in the U.S. and his hate for the religion is transparent through his acts. When this is the scenario, do you think a Muslim political leader should look forward to establishing good ties with Trump? Unlike what you may think, Dr. Oz has been with Trump all along his presidential years and even welcomed him on his morning talk show. Though, looking into Trump’s political portfolio you might be wondering why Trump was Dr. Oz’s choice. So it is said that the only motivation behind calling Trump to the show was ‘political gain’.
What else to know about Dr. Oz?
Dr. Oz was born in Philadelphia and has a Harvard undergraduate degree. He did his medical studies at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Columbia University has made Dr. Oz the Vice-President and Professor of Surgery.
Dr. Oz is an exceptional writer as he has written five bestseller books as of yet.
His prominence in cardiothoracic surgery is out of words as he operates 200 hearts annually.
In 2018, Trump took Oz onboard at the Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. As a healthcare advisor, he put light on the benefits of green coffee supplements for reducing weight.
