Nov. 29, 2007
Obama Dogged By Muslim Rumors
Washington Post: Foes Use Candidate's Muslim Ties To Fuel Speculation About His Faith
-
Photo
Barack Obama's campaign in Iowa keeps a letter at its offices, signed by five members of the local clergy, vouching for the candidate's Christian faith. (AP)
-
Photo Essay
Barack Obama
A look at the life and meteoric rise of the president-elect.
From Our Partner:
In his speeches and often on the Internet, the part of Sen. Barack Obama's biography that gets the most attention is not his race but his connections to the Muslim world.
Since declaring his candidacy for president in February, Obama, a member of a congregation of the United Church of Christ in Chicago, has had to combat rumors that he is a Muslim or that he had received training in Islam in Indonesia, where he lived from ages 6 to 10. While his father was an atheist and his mother did not practice religion, Obama's stepfather did occasionally attend services at a mosque there.
Despite his denials, rumors and e-mails circulating on the Internet continue to allege that Obama (D-Ill.) is a Muslim, a "Muslim plant" in a conspiracy against America, and that if elected president he would take the oath of office using a Koran, rather than a Bible, as did Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the only Muslim in Congress, when he was sworn in earlier this year.
In campaign appearances, Obama regularly mentions his time living and attending school in Indonesia, and the fact that his paternal grandfather, a Kenyan farmer, was a Muslim. Obama invokes these facts as part of his case that he is prepared to handle foreign policy, despite having been in the Senate for only three years and that he would literally bring a new face to parts of the world where the United States is not popular.
The son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya, Obama was born and spent much of his childhood in Hawaii, and he talks more about his multicultural background than he does about the possibility of being the first African American president, in marked contrast to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who mentions in most of her stump speeches the prospect of her becoming the first woman to serve as president.
"A lot of my knowledge about foreign affairs is not what I just studied in school. It's actually having the knowledge of how ordinary people in these other countries live," he said earlier this month in Clarion, Iowa.
"The day I'm inaugurated, I think this country looks at itself differently, but the world also looks at America differently," he told another Iowa crowd. "Because I've got a grandmother who lives in a little village in Africa without running water or electricity; because I grew up for part of my formative years in Southeast Asia in the largest Muslim country on Earth."
While considerable attention during the campaign has focused on the anti-Mormon feelings aroused by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R), polls have also shown considerable hostility toward Muslims in politics. It is not clear whether that negative sentiment will affect someone who has lived in a Muslim country but does not practice Islam.
Quote
In an August poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 45 percent of respondents said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate for any office who is Muslim, compared with 25 percent who said that about a Mormon candidate and with 16 percent who said the same for someone who is an evangelical Christian.If I were a Muslim, I would let you know… But I'm a member of Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street on the South Side of Chicago. We've got the best choir in town, and if you want to come and worship with us, you are more than welcome.
Barack ObamaIn Ellison's case, much of the controversy focused on his decision to take his oath of office with a Koran, one owned by Thomas Jefferson.
"It's good for America to have a president who has diversity at many levels in his background. That would be a benefit in reaching out to the rest of the world, particularly the Islamic world," said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based civil rights and advocacy group for Muslims. "But that kind of thing provides talking points for political detractors."
Obama aides sharply disputed the initial stories suggesting that he was a Muslim, and in Iowa, the campaign keeps a letter at its offices, signed by five members of the local clergy, vouching for the candidate's Christian faith. Aware that his religious belief remains an issue, Obama has denied a separate charge: that he does not hold his hand to his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. This rumor stemmed from a photo that was taken while the national anthem was being played.
© 2007 The Washington Post Company
|
|
- Latest in Washington Post
- Health Lobbyists Pulling Out All Stops
- The Life of James W. Von Brunn
- For Health Care Reform, Compromise Is Key
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- next
See all 190 CommentsObama has considerable Zionist money out of Chicago behind him--they aren''t going to back a Moslem... not for the Senate...not for the Presidency. Obama has already gone to Israel and got an A-OK from the Likud-niks and other Luddites. He wants to continue the intervention in Iraq to "take out" tens of thousands of "activist extremists"...presumably, NOT to dinner.
He says he''ll talk with the Iranians...how nice...and what happens if they stick to their plans to generate electricity with nuclear reactors and process their own fuel as they are able to do under international treaty which the US is and has actively subverted in the cases of Israel and Pakistan?
If Perry Bacon Jr. and the twits at washingtonpost.com who publish this garbage are wondering whether it''s just them, the answer''s ''yes'' . . .
Would you like us to take Jihadists extremists to dinner? In order to safely get our troops out of Iraq
we need to clear the exit path of would-be snipers.
We need a candidate with the international credibility that Bush forfeited with the way he went into this mess to bring others into the process of re-establishing the diplomatic process so the country doesn''t deteriorate into ethnic cleansing and anarchy when we leave.
We also need a candidate who''s committed to a withdrawal plan for removing our troops from the war zone that do everything possible to make that withdrawal orderly, swift, and as safe as possible for our troops.
That means taking out anyone engaging our troops.
So long as our occupation is open-ended, as the Republicans want to keep it til the end of time, those engaging us will include 2 elements. Element 1 would be Jihadists whose only goal is to kill as many Americans as possible. Element 2 would be Iraqi nationals who want us out of their country. If we set a withdrawal, as even General Sanchez now suggests, it''s reasonable to consider that those elements will back off. The Jihadists won''t and will be need to be engaged right up to the end of our presence in Iraq.
Obama is just another member of the CFR(Council on Foreign Relations) just like Bush, Cheney, Clinton, Giuliani, Huckabee, Edwards, Romney, Biden, McCain, Richardson, and Thompson to name a few.
The CFR has hijacked the foreign policy of both parties and their main goal is to destroy American sovereignty and our constitution leading to the formation of a North American Union with Canada and Mexico.
Dr. Ron Paul is NOT a member of the CFR and he is the only pro-peace and pro-liberty candidate running for president.
ronpaul2008.com
This is one of the reasons why as a Christian I more often find Democratic behaviors and positions congruent with my values.
There are millions of Americans for whom this is already true. For that, I am very thankful.
Of course Obama has historical links to being a Muslim.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and sounds like a duck............Guess what?
The CFR has hijacked the foreign policy of both parties and their main goal is to destroy American sovereignty and our constitution leading to the formation of a North American Union with Canada and Mexico.
Dr. Ron Paul is NOT a member of the CFR and he is the only pro-peace and pro-liberty candidate running for president.
ronpaul2008.com
The criteria for choosing a new president should be based on intelligence, honesty (which is a rare quality for any politician), the fervent desire to govern on a fair and equitable basis, and some basic experience in the snake pit that is known as upper level government. Bush was governor of Texas, which is like running a small country, but that background was rendered moot.
I want Obama to become our President because he is not hogtied to big oil corporations, to mega evangelical Christian groups, he''s not a Clinton re-tread. He is new, intelligent, a breath of fresh air that is needed to blow away the pollution that is entrenched in our nation''s capitol.
I''m a 50 year old white woman who wants her 2 daughters to have hope for their future, that they won''t have to wear a Christian version of a burqua, and be squished by the prospect of a 100 year war with the Middle East.
And I know a guy by the name of Ali, but he''s Catholic. I guess by your reasoning, small minded and worthless as it is, he''s really a Muslim. You definitely sound like a duck.
Individuals, not religions, carry out inhuman acts.
Islam is a religion of peace, accepted and practiced by 1.5 billion people worldwide. It is the fastest-growing religion in the world, and if it was what some critics claim, why should the people from all walks of life from around the world keep embracing Islam? Where is the sword now?
In Islam, a person has the right to defend himself, his family, his country or his neighbor(s), which justifies the resistance being offered by the people of Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Iraq, Kashmir and Palestine, to attacks on their soils by the so-called liberators, who are actually the occupiers.
The Holy Qur%u2019an clearly states that if a person saves one life, it%u2019s as if he saved humanity, and if a person kills one human being, it%u2019s as if he killed humanity.
This is what substitutes for real debate in this country. When nuckleheads can''t take on a candidate on the the issues, they resort to baseless innuendo. Guess that''s what happens when you are smarter than the people you are running against.
Naw, this is a liberal tactic to try & make it seem like Republicans are attacking poor Obama for no good reason... plus, that way they can use their favorite word - hate hate hate....
Puh-lease...
Liberals - you wouldn''t believe it if you didn''t hear them for yourself
Posted by neoconism
There goes the first amendment.
Hmmmm... gee... let''s examine this for a second
While not ALL Muslims are terrorists - just ABOUT all terrorists are Muslim - and frankly, even the non terrorist Muslims seem to lend at the very least moral support for terror, that is if they''re not jumping for joy in the streets about it or praising their martyred children who blew up a kindergarten class...
And let''s see now... how does Islam react to a few pictures of Mohammed??? Hmmm...
Religion of peace huh? Yeah right...
The jury''s out on Islam - we''ve seen enough... well, except for liberals who have allied themselves with Al Queda to defeat George Bush - but other than that - the world now sees Islam for what it is...
An evil death cult void of God & practiced by animals
Posted by dogsoul at 12:22 PM : Nov 29, 2007
An amazing imagination you have. Do you sleep with a flashlight in your hand and look under the bed every 15 minutes?
Isn''t that hysterical? A bunch of Arab Islamic terrorists fly planes into NYC - while their brethren dance in the streets - and continue to promise as much death as they are able to deliver...
And there go the liberals, not saying a WORD against Islam - but instead spewing venom about Christians...
Liberals - traitors to their country... enemies of God
You can rely on the Repugs to trot out any lies they can to distract the public from this dismal failure and incompetence.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
Oh really? This is a CLASSIC liberal tactic - that way they don''t HAVE to defend actual viewpoints, views, visions, issues... they just point their finger & say Republicans don''t like him because of his background, his race, her gender, take yer pick....
Most any conservative OUT there isn''t at ALL concerned about Obama''s Muslim background - they don''t like his liberal views... same reason they don''t like Hillary - or YOU for that matter...
But, of course - liberals are such racists & sexists - that''s all they can talk about - and presumedly they''ll even VOTE for people purely on the basis of that person being of a certain race or gender... or conversely NOT vote for someone who doesn''t meet their racial and/or sexual preferences...
Obama is a member of the CFR(Council on Foreign Relations) just like Bush, Cheney, Clinton, Giuliani, Huckabee, Edwards, Romney, Biden, McCain, Richardson, and Thompson to name a few.
The CFR has hijacked the foreign policy of both parties and their main goal is to destroy American sovereignty and our constitution leading to the formation of a North American Union with Canada and Mexico.
Dr. Ron Paul is NOT a member of the CFR and he is the only pro-peace and pro-liberty candidate running for president.
ronpaul2008.com
"The real enemy of America is turning out to be the Evangelical Christian...."
Isn''''t that hysterical? A bunch of Arab Islamic terrorists fly planes into NYC - while their brethren dance in the streets - and continue to promise as much death as they are able to deliver...
And there go the liberals, not saying a WORD against Islam - but instead spewing venom about Christians...
Liberals - traitors to their country... enemies of God
Posted by dogsoul
Thought you might enjoy this commentary.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands: %u2014 A Dutch conservative lawmaker said Wednesday he is making a film to highlight what he describes as "fascist" passages in the Koran, his latest high profile criticism of Islam.
The interior and justice ministers said they were concerned, but believed they had no authority to prevent the lawmaker, Geert Wilders, from screening his film.
Wilders plans to depict parts of the Koran he says are used as inspiration "by bad people to do bad things."
Less than 10 minutes long, the film is expected to air in late January. It will show "the intolerant and fascist character of the Koran," said Wilders, whose anti-Islam campaign helped his Freedom Party win nine seats in parliament in last year''s election.
In the past, Wilders has said that half the Koran should be torn up and compared it with Adolf Hitler''s book "Mein Kampf." He has claimed the Netherlands is being swamped by a "tsunami" of Islamic immigrants.
Immigrants from Muslim countries number about 1 million of the country''s 16 million people.
Wilders'' planned broadcast is reminiscent of the film "Submission" %u2014 a fictional study of abused Muslim women with scenes of near-naked women with Koranic texts engraved on their flesh.
"Submission" director Theo van Gogh was shot and had his throat slit by a Muslim extremist on an Amsterdam street in 2004. Prominent Muslim critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who wrote the screenplay, was threatened in a note left on Van Gogh''s body. She now lives under round-the-clock protection in the United States.
Justice Ministry spokesman Wim van der Weegen said the government is "taking measures" before the broadcast of Wilders'' film. He declined to elaborate.
"Based on the discussion, the ministers have expressed concern," Van der Weegen said. "But at the same time (they) have said that Mr. Wilders has freedom of expression."
Wilders said he is not afraid of reprisals if his film angers Muslims. "I have lived with 24-hour protection for three years," he said.
"I will make the film and see what reaction it creates."
Dutch Muslim leaders did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Goodbye,
What am it like living on your planet Bizarro?
Hello.
Obama Disrespects U.S. Flag!
Obama: No Hand on Heart for National Anthem
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2007/10/20/obama-no-hand-heart-pledge-either-will-msm-notice
http://bobmccarty.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/forget-lapel-pins-obama-disrespects-us-flag/
IT IS WAR!!!
Bin Laden Message Urges Holy War In Darfur
Al-Jazeera Decision To Air Only Excerpts Of Terrorist''s Message Angers Militants and liberal demonic-rats
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/23/terror/main3400563.shtml
Posted by Abdoul_Pasha
You sound like Dracula. If you don''t know who he is, I suggest you ask some of your friends.
I think that the Americans are bigger terrorists than the Muslims.
Posted by Abdoul_Pasha
Sure we are. That''s why we fly planes into buildings.
hahaha is that what you fascist nazi terrorislamic mullah told you to say haji LOL
Dutch lawmaker planning film criticizing the Quran
A Dutch conservative lawmaker said Wednesday he is making a film to highlight what he describes as "fascist" passages in the Quran, his latest high profile criticism of Islam.
Wilders plans to depict parts of the Quran he says are used as inspiration "by bad people to do bad things."
Less than 10 minutes long, the film is expected to air in late January. It will show "the intolerant and fascist character of the Quran," said Wilders, whose anti-Islam campaign helped his Freedom Party win nine seats in parliament in last year''s election.
In the past, Wilders has said that half the Quran should be torn up and compared it with Adolf Hitler''s book "Mein Kampf." He has claimed the Netherlands is being swamped by a "tsunami" of Islamic immigrants.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/28/europe/EU-GEN-Netherlands-Anti-Quran-Film.php
Faith is not a killer. People are. When people are ill-informed, dominated, enslaved and taught to hate -check out those Madrassas, then you blame faith. Faith is not a killer. It''s the lack of true faith, tolerance and charity that is.
I FEAR THOSE WHOM CLAIM TO SPEAK FOR GOD,,,
especially fascist nazi terrorislamic mud-ham-mad ali baba
He doesn''t. Doesn''t wear a flag on his lapel. Won''t put his hand on his heart when the National Athem is played. RamaLamaObama, pledges alliegence to no country.
exactly
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- next
See all 190 Comments