Are You Now...
...or have you ever been — a Muslim?
That's what the Jerusalem Post wants to know about Barak Obama. The evidence they cite ranges from the foggy memories of folks who knew him as a child in Indonesia, to this:
In Islam, religion passes from the father to the child. Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. (1936-1982) was a Muslim who named his boy Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.
Not quite a Perry Mason Moment, is it?
And who can forget Hillary Clinton's impassioned defense of Obama when 60 Minutes asked her if Obama was a Muslim:
KROFT: You said you’d take Senator Obama at his word that he’s not…a Muslim. You don’t believe that he’s…?
CLINTON: No. No, there is nothing to base that on. As far as I know.
Between the ages of 6 and 10, Obama went to school in Indonesia, where he probably was required to read the Koran now and then. Living for those four years in a country whose chief religion is outside of the Judeo-Christian tradition doesn't make Obama unfit to be president. But it does say something unkind about those who insinuate that it does make him unfit.
Comments
In Judaism, it is said to be passed down from the mother. So what?
Apologies for transgendering you. ;-)
Posted by: TomCat | May 3, 2008 12:21 PM
I would have thought experiencing a few early years in Indonesia would be an important aspect of his CV.
Like it or not, the next president will need to do a lot of clever work with the rest of the world.
Posted by: Dennis Cartledge | May 3, 2008 04:23 PM
That's ok, TomCat. Didn't hurt a bit. ;-)
Cart, I couldn't agree more. His upbringing in a Muslim country is a point in his favor. We're going to have to deal with Muslims in a positive and productive way, and clearly, he understands them better than most US politicians.
Posted by: abi | May 4, 2008 07:35 AM
Guilt by association, heh? My paternal grandfather was born in Italy and migrated to this country. The Mafia are Italian too, so I guess that makes me a gangster.
How utterly absurd the world is becoming.
Posted by: Kathy | May 5, 2008 07:11 PM
Sure is, Kathy. Guilt by association only works if people buy into it, and apparently they do. What a job they're doing on Obama.
Italian, eh? Tell me, did it hurt when you burned the picture of that saint in your hands? I still have the scar (all my grandparents came from Italy.)
Posted by: abi | May 6, 2008 07:15 AM