One of the two Muslim women who were denied visible seats behind the podium said they deserve a personal apology from Obama and wished to be seated behind him at a future campaign rally.

After everything Obama has preached about inclusion and unity among the American people, it’s disappointing that this sort of discrimination would occur at a rally in his honor.

It is unknown how closely affiliated the volunteers were to the Obama campaign, but the fact remains that this incident should have never happened. Volunteers are present at events to help things run smoothly, not to create a hostile environment. It’s hard to understand how this would’ve negatively affected his campaign anyway.

If anything, the presence of these women seated behind Obama might reinforce his messages of inclusion and serve as sort of a representation for his cause. America is supposed to be a place where everyone is free to practice whatever religion they choose but this incident demonstrates the exact opposite. It shows that we might still be years away from a time when people are accepted regardless of their race, sex, religion or sexual orientation.

After the controversy surrounding Obama’s religion, this incident could potentially damage his reputation in the Muslim community. Since Obama attended a Muslim school as a child in Indonesia, if members of his campaign played a role in this occurrence, it might seem as though Obama is trying to deny part of his history. Although this was an unfortunate event, one can only hope that this doesn’t change the views of some of his Muslim supporters.

People should watch what politicians do and acknowledge what controversies arise during their campaign but they shouldn’t let it define how they feel about the candidate. Stories like this will arise frequently in the coming months. While this incident might not be a political maneuver designed to distort a persons’ perception, many of them will be.

Obama should take it upon himself to personally apologize to these women. Doing so might make it appear as though he was personally involved — he may or may not have been — but not apologizing could be worse.

In the future, volunteers and campaign members should communicate better so that something like this won’t happen again.

There is no reason why these women should have been treated in such a manner. They came to show their support for a candidate and instead were confronted with harassment and a misleading reason as to why they couldn’t sit where they wanted. No one should have to tolerate the discrimination these women have endured.