May 15, 2008

Broaching That Other Off-Limits Obama Topic

By Marc Sheppard
When it comes to Barack Obama, only one subject infuriates the swooning mainstream media more than his father's race -- and that's his father and stepfather's religion.  Why, the very mention of Barack's early Islamic training -- or even his Muslim middle name -- has become more sacrosanct a PC no-no than disclosing the race of a non-white crime suspect.

You may recall the furor in January over a pre-Nevada primary "robocall" [MP3] that dropped the full name of Barack Hussein Obama four times.  Or the outcries the following month when Cincinnati radio personality Bill Cunningham spoke those same three words repeatedly at a local McCain town-hall meeting.  And who can possibly forget the widespread media rush to assure the public of their hero's baptism when a photo of him clad in traditional Muslim garb surfaced on the web that same month?

Not surprisingly then, shortly following the media and blogosphere-pressured condemnations by both Hillary and McCain, mention of Obama's middle name or Muslim heritage became de facto taboo amongst politically correct company.  Although not -- it would seem -- for everybody.

A Nuanced Admission from a Pandering Apostate?

In a weekend interview published Monday, the candidate himself mentioned both unmentionables in attempting to mitigate the political damage -- particularly with Jewish voters -- done by Hamas leader Ahmed Yousef's endorsing words "We like Mr. Obama and we hope that he will win the election." The defensive senator told the Atlantic: [emphasis added]

"It's conceivable that there are those in the Arab world who say to themselves, ‘This is a guy who spent some time in the Muslim world, has a middle name of Hussein, and appears more worldly and has called for talks with people, and so he's not going to be engaging in the same sort of cowboy diplomacy as George Bush,' and that's something they're hopeful about. I think that's a perfectly legitimate perception as long as they're not confused about my unyielding support for Israel's security."

So then, it would appear okay to discuss his middle name and childhood exposure to Islam when it helps explain his high regard among terrorists.  And that they're now positive points -- particularly when they can be drawn upon to level a cheap shot at the president while pandering to Jewish voters.  

Yet, that very same day, an op-ed in the NY Times, of all places, also chose to break taboo by suggesting that, as an apostate of Islam, a President Obama might invite assassination at the hands of jihadists.  In stark contrast to the notion that Obama's Indonesian childhood might somehow have an affirmative effect on Palestinians and other Muslims around the world, Edward N. Luttwak's column reminds us of the decidedly negative impact his presidency could have. President Apostate, the writer suggests, would actually compromise Muslim nations' ability to cooperate in our war on terror, as well as "American efforts to export democracy and human rights abroad."

In truth, the apostate angle was hardly a new one. In March of 2006 -- almost a full year before he officially announced his candidacy -- Canadian Free Press  founding Editor Judi McLeod asked whether there was "a Muslim apostate headed for the White House?"  By then it was well known that Obama's biological father had been Muslim, which, by Islamic law, passes that distinction on to the son.  But, as McLeod pointed out -- at the time:

"little [was] known about who Obama's step father was. But some say that he was an Indonesian national and a Muslim. Still, Obama must have attended school in Indonesia. Is it possible that as a young Muslim boy he went to a Saudi madrassa?  Yes, that's a possibility."

Indeed, it would be almost a year later, in February of ‘07, that rumors of Obama's early Muslim schooling were confirmed when an AP piece revealed that:

"he attended a Muslim school in Indonesia from age 6 to 10. Obama, who was born in Hawaii, lived in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather from 1967 to 1971 and subsequently returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents."

The same article quoted Obama's attempt to assuage voters' anxieties over his now exposed early Koran lessons by professing both his middle name and his conversion to Christianity:

"If your name is Barack Hussein Obama, you can expect it, some of that. I think the majority of voters know that I'm a member of the United Church of Christ, and that I take my faith seriously." 

In essence then, it was the Associated Press that tacitly outed Obama as a Muslim apostate over a year ago.  And in doing so, arguably opened the floodgates.

The Audacity of Denied Apostasy

The following month, Paul Watson of the Los Angeles Times reported that Obama communications director Robert Gibbs' January statement that "Senator Obama has never been a Muslim" and "was not raised a Muslim" had been revised.  The reworked phrasing stated instead that "Obama has never been a practicing Muslim" (my emphasis).  And while an interesting distinction, what followed in Watson's report told another story still.

This article delved deeper into young Obama's time in Indonesia, "the world's most populous Islamic-majority country," with Lolo Soetoro, his Muslim step-father.  Childhood friends were quoted recalling Obama attending "Friday prayers at the local mosque."  More disturbingly:

"His former Roman Catholic and Muslim teachers, along with two people who were identified by Obama's grade-school teacher as childhood friends, say Obama was registered by his family as a Muslim at both of the schools he attended. That registration meant that during the third and fourth grades, Obama learned about Islam for two hours each week in religion class."

Leaving no doubt that, at least as a child and Gibbs' assurances notwithstanding, Obama had indeed been a practicing Muslim.  And, while earlier denial has now given way to dismissal of consequence, the point remains a critical one.  As Daniel Pipes wrote in January:

"All this matters, for if Obama once was a Muslim, he is now what Islamic law calls a murtadd (apostate), an ex-Muslim converted to another religion who must be executed. Were he elected president of the United States, this status, clearly, would have large potential implications for his relationship with the Muslim world."

It would, indeed.  As pointed out Monday by Luttwak, while it's unlikely that even the most radically adherent states would allow prosecution of a US president, Shari'a also "prohibits punishment for any Muslim who kills any apostate, and effectively prohibits interference with such a killing."  This, itself:

"would complicate the security planning of state visits by President Obama to Muslim countries, because the very act of protecting him would be sinful for Islamic security guards."

Interestingly enough, questions of whether the Illinois senator might actually be eligible for a Shari'a decreed death sentence were raised over a year ago by Jihad Watcher extraordinaire Robert Spencer:

"Probably not -- particularly if he left Islam while still a child. This is a crucial point, for according to Islamic law an apostate male is not to be put to death if he has not reached puberty (cf. ‘Umdat al-Salik o8.2; Hidayah vol. II p. 246). Some, however, hold that he should be imprisoned until he is of age and then "invited" to accept Islam, but officially the death penalty for youthful apostates is ruled out."

Be that as it may, such technicalities - if applicable -- may or may not influence mainstream Muslim opinion and are certainly unlikely to dissuade jihadists. 

We are, After all, at War With Islamic Extremists

All things considered, there are certainly enough "implications" to a wartime president, in his own words, having spent "some time in the Muslim world" to remove the subject from the hands-off list.  In fact, now that he himself has opened the door to extol the virtues of his Koranic studies, and his acolytes at the Times have widened that entry in expressing concerns for his safety, the topic must be considered fair-game.

And that means warts and all - no sacred cows.

In McLeod's 2006 piece, she raised an interesting, albeit provocative, point:

"What if Obama is engaged in pious fraud? This is a Muslim practice of pretending not to be Muslim to further the cause of Islam or to ‘defend the faith.'  He becomes President and then says, ‘Gee...I think I want to be Muslim again' after he finds the ‘football' in his hands that carries the launch codes for the USA nuke forces."

Of course, this admittedly extreme scenario was immediately torpedoed from every angle, despite Obama having played intentionally coy with his Islamic heritage.  Indeed, the left is quick to point out that Barack is not a Muslim. Yet they are loath to admit that he once was. And their reasoning for declaring unfair any questions about the potential lingering biases of a man aspiring to be commander-in-chief is equally fraudulent.

Having placed his heritage and middle name on the table as advantages in dealing with the Muslim world, the question of the downsides of his possible apostasy in the eyes of our Saudi allies, the Iranians, the Pakistanis and other Muslims needs addressing.

Accordingly -- while it's unclear at exactly what point in life Obama forsook the tenets of Islam, are questions pressing the presumptive nominee's positions on such topics as Shari'a in America or Palestinian right of return any less justifiable?

The stakes just don't allow such sophistry.

Marc Sheppard is a frequent contributor to American Thinker and welcomes your feedback.

Comments

You wrote:

'Having placed his heritage and middle name on the table as advantages in dealing with the Muslim world, the question of the downsides of his possible apostasy in the eyes of our Saudi allies, the Iranians, the Pakistanis and other Muslims needs addressing.'

Yes, but it's not the only question that needs to be addressed. Another is 'what would his foreign policy towards the Muslim world be'? You see, Islam is not the only part of his heritage, another is his Arabic composition. Obama is not a Negro. Obama is an Arab. His father's side of the family tree is exclusively Arabic, and that fact is signified by their names and the name of Senator Obama himself: Barack Hussein Obama. His first name is Muslim also. Not just the middle name. Real Kenyan Negros have Christian names. By giving his son a Muslim name, Obama's father has sent a signal: he may live among Kenyan Christians, but he is not one of them.

Moreover, he is only 6.25% Negro. He's 50% Eurocaucasian (after his mother) and 43.75% Arabic. The federal law of the US says that to claim minority status, you must be at least 12.5% (1/8) of the race you claim to represent. Senator Obama is half the legal treshold. He could honestly say, 'My father was a Negro.' His father was a member of the last generation able to claim to represent the Negro race.

Obama is guilty of lying to the Harvard Admissions Committee to get in; lying to Chicagoians to get elected to IL state senate; lying to IL citizens to get elected to the Senate; and lying to all Americans to get elected President (but luckily, he hasn't won yet).

He is also guilty of lying in his book 'The Audacity Of Hope'.

Obama apparently converted to Christianity in Rev Wright's church. Politically there doesn't seem to be much difference in what is being said in the mosques and Trinity Church. That cannot be swept off the table as a forbidden topic.

Moreover, Obama's ancestors were slave merchants during the Victorian era. That's right, at the same time American Negros were freeing themselves from a slave's shackles, Obama's ancestors were placing such shackles on the hands of other Negros.
Obama is 50% Caucasian (after his mother), and from his father's side, he's 43.75% Arabic and 6.25% Negro (because one of his ancestors, his great-great-grandparent, was a Negro, thus the 6.25% contribution to Obama's ethnic composition which plays on his skin's pigmentation).

Of course, Mr Obama will not confirm any of this to be true, because if he did, then he would be forced to convince Americans - still reeling from 9/11, the Afghan war and the Iraqi war, that now is the time for America's first Arab-American president, and we all know how likely would he be to succeed in such endavour.

Like grass coming through cracks in the sidewalk, conservative opinions are starting to come through the MSM like Bill Kristol on NYT and Karl Rove on Newsweek.

So there's hope that just like the President and the Clintons before and today, Mr. Obama's foibles will be able to be displayed prominently.

It's only fair.

A piece from Mr. Sheppard that the MSM doesn't have the nerve to write. Well done.

Belated thanks to Gov Romney. If the questions, legit and not, of his religion had not been dealt with so forthrightly the Obammoids would be having much more success pulling the drapes. I seem to remember Barry endorsing a full, civil expiation on those issues. Sauce, meet gander.

I'm far less concerned about Obama's religion of birth than about his long, close association with a church and pastor in league with Louis Farrakhan. Obama has not come close to calling Farrakhan a racist demogogue; why not? Does Obama hold that, by definition, no non-white can be a racist? Or is he counting on some campaign support behind the scenes? Or does he share, in whole or in part, the same relabeled "Nation of Islam" values that his church advocates?

Kind of OT, but could Obama's misstatement of "57 states" not have been a misstatement at all? Something to think about-Doesn't the Organization of Islamic Conference boast a 57 state membership?

For most of the past two years I have been living in the Middle East and have made many Arab Muslim friends and acquaintences. Over the last few months, when it has come to mind, I have asked a handful of them the question, "If a Muslim father has a son, is his son automatically considered a Muslim by birth?" All of them answered, without hesitation, "Yes."

Do the math regarding Islam and apostasy from there. . .

You write off the possibility that Obama could be pretending to be a Christian long enough to get into power and then revert back to his islamic teachings. The word for such deception is "Taqiyya" and it is an approved doctrine for use by islamic fighters when they find themselves in countries where they are heavily outnumbered by infidels. It seems not extreme at all, in fact it seems highly possible. The fact that no clerics of islam are calling for Obama's punishment suggests that they know he is not an apostate - and is using taqiyya.

As a woman and mother on this thread with so much new to me information, does anyone know why Obama's mom abandoned her little "red diaper" boy? I've seen a picture of a darling engaging boy in Hawaii on a tricycle, but have missed any reason that this mother would send her precious son to live away from her. Did she die? Can anyone enlighten me?

It seems to me that the underlying problem here is not BHO's religion per se, but rather the hypersensitivity to the civil political discourse that is necessary to vet any candidate for office. This is the direct result of the Political Correctness trends which are now completely out of control.

Obama is a thoroughly modern politician who relies on image and symbolism to gain his advantage. He cannot rely on substance because he has precious little of that. His record in the Illinois legislature is replete with more "Present" votes than "Yea" or "Nay" votes - he's a man without a position, it would seem. When he talks "off the script", he often blunders into errors of fact, errors of arrogance, errors of memory that show him for the shallow and contrived politician he is. He has wrapped himself in the hazy gauze of politically correct hypersensitivity in order to stifle any real questioning of his past or his politics. It is time that we as a society sounded off about the damage that political correctness has done to our culture and our ability to get the business of government done.

Debbie Schussel claims that Obama has on staff several nation of Islam members: "Obama employed and continues to employ several Farrakhan acolytes in high positions on his Illinois and U.S. Senate campaign and office staffs." http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2008/01/obamas_nation_o.html

That raises the question of an actual 'relationship' with Farrakan...

Dear Marybel, I'm not sure, but IIRC, Obama's mother did not abandon him. Wikipedia is not perfect, but if you haven't read his WP biography yet, I'd recommend it. It says:
'Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Obama, of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Ann Dunham, of Wichita, Kansas. His parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student. They separated when he was two years old and later divorced.[3] After her divorce, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, and the family [including Obama - ZM] moved to Soetoro's home country of Indonesia in 1967, where Obama attended local schools in Jakarta until he was ten years old. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his mother's family while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade until his graduation in 1979.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama#Early_life_and_career
I hope that has answered your question.

You might review Spengler's Feb 26, 2008 column ( http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/JB26Aa01.html ) for one pundit's answers to your question.

OsamaHusseinIslamObama 08'

signed,
Hamas

The idea the B. Hussien Obama has no Muslim leanings is as KA Shiver would say "Balderdash"
If he went to a Muslim school for four years between the ages of 6 and 12.He was thoroughly indoctrinated in the Muslim Koran and religion. For a comparison look at the Catholic church and the Jews. They treat these as the the most formative of years leading to ritual "Coming of Age" at 12.Would you expect anything less in terms of indoctrnation from Islam.

PC will be the end of us.
LEE

Why if BHO is considered apostate by all of the muslim world do the media think he will have any ability at all to negotiate with the muslim world. Seems as though he would be thought of as highly as someone of jewish heritage.

It is very important to establish Obamas' age when he converted to Christianity in light of discussing the Islamic worlds perception of Obamas' apostate status. It seems apparent he converted to a blended form of Christianity (Nation of Islam features in his churches views) as an adult. Therefore potential compromising complications with the Islamic world are a reality for this candidate for the presidency. Dims think opening such a Pandoras' Box is good, responsible government.

Excellent article! Raises some valid points, and ones that I hope (but know won't be) will be examined during the campaign.

Just one more in a rapidly growing list of disqualifiers.

It's hard to imagine that a country involved in a lethal struggle with an evil and virulent form of Islamic insanity would at this time choose as a leader a man with such strong Islamic roots and conflicts.

Could it be that the "ignorant rubes" in West Virgina are in fact on to something that escapes the sophisticates?

While we westerners may bend over backwards to parse Obama's history using our values (not in a mosque since he was a child), Muslims WILL NOT see it that way.

Obama did not "convert" until his late 20s. Given his liberal upbringing, it is unlikely he ever attended church (though might have celebrated a secular Christmas).

It is also reported that he studied Islam while in college (in a westernized secular sense - read a book, listened to Farrakhan).

He also considered himself a non-practicing or secular Muslim until he landed in Chicago.

'Obama did not "convert" until his late 20s. Given his liberal upbringing, it is unlikely he ever attended church (though might have celebrated a secular Christmas).'

Yeah, and yet, both he and Hillary Clinton dared to claim to have ties to the Catholic Church. This false claim is yet another disqualifier. I am a Catholic, many AT columnists and comment-writers are probably Catholic too, but Obama does not have any ties with the Church, and neither does Hillary Clinton.

Interesting article, however we should be just as concerned with his UCC connection. The positions of Wright, Barry Lynn and the UCC should be fully laid out for the American public.

Obama does not have any ties with the Church, and neither does Hillary Clinton. -- Posted by: Zbigniew Mazurak

I don't know why anyone assumes that a politician's religiosity is ever anything but a farce.

We also tend to fictionalize politician's lives as if they never eat with their fingers or have gas.

Obama used his "Muslim" identity to get laid when he was in college.

Bottom line he was a quasi-Muslim until he was 29 and CHOSE to become Christian.

We may delude ourselves, but it is in his book, and hard- line foreign Muslims will figure it out on their on terms.

From Wikipedia ---"Barack (given name), Arabic name meaning 'he who is blessed'".
If "Hussein" is politically "Taboo", why isn't the Islamic name, "Barack", just as impolitic?

'I don't know why anyone assumes that a politician's religiosity is ever anything but a farce.' - by Agrippa2k

Agrippa, if what you meant was 'politicians are not religious' then I'd agree.
But if the meaning of your post is 'politicians _are_ religious' or 'Obama _is_ religious' (which would be a U-turn), then I'd disagree. Either way, I've rebutted Obama's claim only because he has made that claim for political profit (while campaigning in Pennsylvania). To be able to claim links with the Catholic Church, one must be a Catholic. I am one, Obama isn't. That was my point.

Barack and Hillary, along with the rest of the Democrat Party, "found God in the exit polling of 2004."

I haven't been a practicing Catholic for over 40 years. But I am, and always will be, a Jesuit. Time to open up this can of worms, and let Hillary go fishing one last time.

The point is: we don't know who this guy really is. We don't know anything for which is stands for, except liberal, unChristian values. It doesn't matter what label he may claim to wear, Christian, Muslim, whatever he thinks will get him the most votes: the point is, this Obama guy is scary, and we're doomed as a nation, if we just stand by, like lambs to the slaughter, and allow liberal media and blinded and fooled democrats to follow this charismatic man. Which, by the way, I don't think he is. I think his true colors are starting to come through: defensive; snobbish; stuck-up; and a chameleon. We need a leader who knows who he is. We need someone confident in himself, and reliant upon God to lead and humble him, to take upon leading this great nation...which won't be great for very long, if we let this foolish, foolish man, obama hussein into office. is it me, or are there others who get his name confused with the guy who is hiding in the hills in Afghanistan....

On page 293, Dreams From My Father, Senator Obama stated that he was present for the Hiroshima sermon given by the Rev. Wright.

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Obama in his own words...

From Audacity of Hope: "I will stand with the Muslims should
the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

OBAMA is standing in front of the camera himself for 52 seconds explaining how
he will DISARM
the USA.

What we are talking about here IS NOT about politics and the differing
views concerning issues.....this is about the potential literal destruction of
this country by our enemies and our inability to defend ourselves against those
attacks.

This is a very short (52 seconds) video by Barak Obama in his own words
about how he plans to destroy our defense capabilities if elected.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl32Y7wDVDs



www.youtube.com/user/ATLAHWorldwide


Must Watch !
A Black Harlem Minister Warning White Americans if Obama gets elected !!!


PFLEGER MUST GO !!!!!please go sign petition and pass on this link..

www.thepetitionsite.com/1
/removable-of-father-michael-pfleger

It enrages me when Obama says he is a Christian.. His Church, TUCC teaches Black Theology from the writings of Marxist, James H. Cone. Here is an excerpt..

this is what his church teaches to his daughters on
Sundays....

"Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the
goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people,
then he is a murderer and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is
to kill gods who do not belong to the black community. Black theology will
accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white
enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in black power which is the
power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at
their disposal. Unless God is participating in his holy activity, we must reject
his love."

...and Obama himself...

Malcolm X's autobiography seemed to offer something different," Obama wrote.
"His repeated acts of self-creation spoke to me; the blunt poetry of his words,
his unadorned insistence on respect, promised a new and uncompromising order,
martial in its discipline, forged through sheer force of will."

I find it very difficult to believe that Barack Hussein or Rev. Wright & the UCC are in any way Christian. I know God said that we are not to judge but He also said we are to discern the spirits and know them (the people) by their fruits. Gal 5:22 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control". Both Obama and (certainly) Rev. Wright miss most of those. Hate and racism is not of God. Homosexuality and abortion, both which Obama advocates, are not of God. And they are both good friends of Louis Farrakhan who converted to orthodox Islam in 2000 and is fervently devoted to Islam. Christianity is an enemy to Islam. Surah 5:51 "Take not Jews or Christians for your friends and protectors". Christians are the infidel!!How then can a man devoted to Islam befriend a Christian pastor or church member? Also, if a Christian, why does Rev. Wright santify Farrakhan and his people going into the prisons and indoctrinating the blacks in the Islam faith, which offers no eternal salvation (except by Jihad). I would think that a Christian pastor would want Christian lay workers to teach the blacks about Jesus Christ/forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation. Until I hear Barack Hussein stand in front of the cameras and say "I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal saviour and Lord and I believe he is the true Son of God. And I denounce all forms of Islam" he will be an Islamic Muslim to me.

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