According to his website, Barack Obama is not a Muslim.
Obama never prayed in a mosque. He has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ.
The suggestion that Obama is some sort of Muslim Manchurian candidate has been a constant slur against the US Democratic presidential candidate. Given the Muslim connection is considered by some to be political poison, it’s understandable why he and his supporters have gone to such lengths to clarify that he’s never prayed in a mosque, been a Muslim, etc.
However, let’s consider some of the information that has emerged so far:
- His father, named Hussein, was a Kenyan Muslim who, according to Obama, lived in a village with a lot of other Muslims but apparently didn’t practice himself. He and his mother (a Hawaiian atheist) chose the name Barack (a derivative of the Arabic word baraka or blessing) for their son;
- After his mother divorced his Muslim Kenyan father, she married a Muslim Indonesian. Obama attended a Catholic school in Indonesia and, according to official school records, his religion was listed as ‘Muslim’. He might have just as easily been enrolled as a Christian but his parents chose to advise the Catholic school that their son was a Muslim;
- Childhood friends are reported as saying that they remember the young Obama praying in the mosque and occasionally attending jummah (Friday) congregational prayers.
Obviously, Obama is not now a Muslim. He’s a “committed Christian”. But is it true to say that he was never a Muslim?
26 comments ↓
I really don’t understand this hatred of apostates.
… and this raises another query – up to what age are you allowed to decide not to follow the religion your parents chose for you, without being an apostate? Some Christian denomonations have Confirmation, at which you’re making your informed choice to stay a Christian – is there a Muslim equivalent?
The issue isn’t really whether he is an apostate or not. I’m sure most of us couldn’t care less.
The issue is whether he is telling the truth when he says he has ‘never’ prayed in a mosque or been a Muslim when, according to the reports above, his early childhood was very similar to that of most ‘cultural Muslims’.
Another ‘Swiftboat Veterans ‘ campaign, methinks – points 1-3 are clearly matters of interpretation, point 4 either he is lieing or the people his opponents have found are lieing.
I doubt that this article would have had that illustration if apostacy wasn’t in the wind.
Hmm let’s see..
Both his dads were Muslim and his mom had no religion. He grew up going to the mosque and doing Muslim stuff.
Later on in life he becomes a Christian.
If the Islamic view is that he was a Muslim when he was praying at mosques and celebrating eid then surely that makes him an apostate?
Muslims should be offended that he’s denying his Muslim past as though its something dirty like a conviction for child molestation or something.
Only G-d knows if he’s still a Muslim but he should just come clean and admit he’s lying about his past. He doesn’t mention ANYTHING about his time in Indonesia in his book and just goes straight from his time as a baby in Kenya to sitting in a Baptist chapel praying to his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The media need to keep the pressure on this guy and hold him to account. He needs to come clean about all the many years in the mosque praying to Allah and probably hating on the Christians and Jews as infidels.
“Only G-d knows if he’s still a Muslim but he should just come clean and admit he’s lying about his past.”
How have you arrived at the conclusion that he’s lying?
Obama only became a Christian in the 1980s. Until then he was a Muslim insyallah.
Everyone seems to “know” that he used to be a Muslim, but based on what?
I don’t think anyone can say for certain that Obama was a Muslim but, based on the evidence that has emerged so far, particularly the school records and recollection of schoolmates, it’s certainly more plausible to think that he identified with the religion of his father, grand-father and step-father at one point.
No Moslem should vote for Osama. He’s a wide-eyed maniac who wants to wage nuclear war on Iran. He’s like a cross between an Oprah Winfrey and a John McCain: white women love him but he’s basically a war-mongering psychopath.
If you care about peace, vote Ron Paul. That’s all there is to it.
Obviously, no sane western politician is going to align themselves with a religion like islam which has so many adherants that want to see us dead or converted…
If his mother had no religion when she married them, then either Osama’s father nor his step-father were knowledgeable or devout muslims, so any childhood allegiance he had was probably entirely nominal.
Obama is hurriedly shifting ground. Now he was a Muslim; but never a “practising Muslim”.
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/.....subID=1683
On a meta level, this stuff is interesting because it exposes the sillines of pretending that young children can make informed choices about religions. I don’t think that anyone can ‘be’ a Muslim or Christian or Hindu until they are old enough to make the decision.
Haha Antish,
The first thing that came to my mind was Amir having a go at the left.
Post 14 should read:
If his mother had no religion when she married them, then neither Osama’s father nor his step-father were knowledgeable or devout muslims, so any childhood allegiance he had was probably entirely nominal.
Meh,
Maybe at one time he might have kinda-sorta been plugged into a mosque but not really. At best he was someone being raised in a Muslim culture. As he was young it is hard to gage if he took to any of the religious goings on. There is good chance he is being honest as he may have been totally indifferent to the proceedings. Looking back on those years as an adult Christian he may just see those years as a “non-religious” part of his life. Going to prays is one thing; actually understanding what is going on is something else–especially for a young boy. Caring about the proceeding is yet more quantum leaps up.
Hate to get Clintonian here and argue about the meaning of the word “is” or other forms of the verb to be. You really do need to define what “Muslim” means in this case. How many times do you have to enter a Mosque before you get the membership card? Is one visit enough? Is a toddler scampering around the rugs or squirming in his mother arms in any real sense a practitioner of the faith? Would you take Koranic interpretation from a five year old seriously?
It does speak volumes that the parents sent Barak to a Catholic school. Why not a Muslim School for a Muslim boy? Maybe mom put down dad’s religion to keep the peace with dad’s family, maybe she did consider young Barak as Muslim while young Barak had totally different ideas. Hard to say what the parents were thinking of at the time.
Obama now identifies as Christian, it is the religion of his adulthood. To quote a very good thing he has put away childish things and strives to be a righteous in the sight of the Lord. His first and only serious religious experience was and is as a Christian and it came as an adult. More than likely his first serious prayers were Christian ones. As for what he may have been doing in that mosque all those many years ago–well who really knows. One can be at prayers whist not really praying at all. Again we are talking about a very young boy; who knows what was going through his head all those years ago? He really could be telling a kind of truth here, he never did pray back then as his head was filled with little boy distractions.
Of all the bricks being tossed at Obama, this Manchurian Muslim nonsense is the most suspect. The charge reeks of Rovian Slime. There is plenty of other charges that are much more weighty-like his utter lack of foreign policy experience. He has been slagging the Union vote and been insulting Democratic grand poohbahs right and left. He has gone a tear of right-wing talking points and rampant fear mongering. He was absolutely flat and wrong footed on his comments about Benizir Bhutto’s death, etc, etc, etc. You can really beef up your blog with posts about Obama screwing the political pooch in one way or another- I know I have. There are more and better examples of Barak Obama shading the truth, prevaricating and perhaps lieing than this meme of “is he or isn’t our Muslim baby” Let it go, this meme is a will of the wisp, a phantom, there is no there there.
[...] to other religion. Just like Barack Obama, whose father is Hussein, was a Kenyan Muslim who, according to Obama, lived in a village with a lot of other Muslims but apparently didn’t practice himself. [...]
BismillaharRahmanirRahim
as-salaamu ‘alaikum. Amir you wrote,
Most of us could probably care less about that as well. If he is lying we all know why and if he isn’t well then no harm done.
-Saifuddin
“For God so love the World he gave his own begotten son, for who so ever believe in him will have every lasting life.” (Holy Bible, John 3:16) This is for all you right wing Christians. I grew up in a church, but I didn’t understand Christianity until I was old enough to understand. I don’t go to an organized church. Does that make me a bad person. I have friend who came from a Muslim background. They don’t practice it now because it is not what they believe to be write for them. They were never commited, so they were never really Muslim.
“For God so love the World he gave his own begotten son, for who so ever believe in him will have every lasting life.” (Holy Bible, John 3:16) This is for all you right wing Christians. I grew up in a church, but I didn’t understand Christianity until I was old enough to understand. I don’t go to an organized church. Does that make me a bad person? I have friend who came from a Muslim background. They don’t practice it now because it is not what they believe to be write for them. They were never commited, so they were never really Muslim.
ok, ok, ok, Lets just say Barak Hussein Obama is not, or has not, ever been a muslim.. But would it not be the most irresponsible thing to do in the world not to take into consideration that both his biological and stepfather were both muslim? Knowing this…. how could anyone possibly believe that Obama has not or is not influenced by the muslim faith in some way, shape or form? It is fact that Obama went to a catholic school enrolled as a muslim.. This is very scary to me.. And for the life of me I cannot believe that it is not to others..
Are we so blind that we can not see the things that make us the same? The things that make this country the greatest nation in the world?
But we let our selves be fooled into the thought that change is all the experince one needs to lead the “United” States of America to a better future? Well… I have some news for you Barark Obama.. Change is inevitable.. whether you say that you’re for it or not.. Please.. wake up America…
So what if Barrack Obama is a muslim? The key think he is a human being. For all have sinned and Fall short of the glory of God. Before Paul became an Apostle of Christ he was one of the biggest prosecutor of Christians. Then he turned out to be one of the greatest Christians of all times. Quit discriminating lets appreciate one an other regardless of religious beliefs.
Speaking of Obama and Islam (well the Nation of Islam), he has received the endorsement and high praise from the racist demagogue and cult leader Louis Farrakhan: http://www.chicagotribune.com/.....1391.story
http://afp.google.com/article/.....sFji9gafnw
I bring this up because Ron Paul was mercilessly attacked because some 9/11 “Truthers” and white supremacists backed him, and Don Black (a notorious white racist) gave Paul a $500 donation. As such, despite the fact the Dr. Paul repudiated all the views of these people, he was still smeared via guilt by association (even if such association never really existed in the first place). Again, Obama gets a free pass by the media.
Interesting comments indeed. Its so sad that we tend to waste our energies on trivialities when it comes to judging the suitability of an individual to public office. Why waste time on splitting hairs. What does America or the world benefit out of knowing whether Barack Obama was once a moslem or not. After all Bill Clinton once said “I did smoke but I did not inhale” what do you make of that? If the American Society is not racist let history be made to allow consolidation of racial harmony in American society. This is a great opportunity for America to be judged more positively.
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