Yesterday, Newsweek warned the Obama Campaign to be aware of "GOP fearmongering" tactics against the Obamessiah in the general election:
The Republican Party has been successfully scaring voters since 1968, when Richard Nixon built a Silent Majority out of lower- and middle-class folks frightened or disturbed by hippies and student radicals and blacks rioting in the inner cities. The 2008 race may turn on which party will win the lower- and middle-class whites in industrial and border states—the Democrats' base from the New Deal to the 1960s, but "Reagan Democrats" in most presidential elections since then.Well, it didn't take long for the minions of the GOP to unleash their attack machine.
It is a sure bet that the GOP will try to paint Obama as "the other"—as a haughty black intellectual who has Muslim roots (Obama is a Christian) and hangs around with America-haters.
This morning The New York Times actually reported that Barack Obama was born a Muslim, something that has been denied by the Obama Campaign in the past, via Little Green Footballs:
As the son of the Muslim father, Senator Obama was born a Muslim under Muslim law as it is universally understood. It makes no difference that, as Senator Obama has written, his father said he renounced his religion. Likewise, under Muslim law based on the Koran his mother’s Christian background is irrelevant.Who could have seen this coming?
Of course, as most Americans understand it, Senator Obama is not a Muslim. He chose to become a Christian, and indeed has written convincingly to explain how he arrived at his choice and how important his Christian faith is to him.
His conversion, however, was a crime in Muslim eyes; it is “irtidad” or “ridda,” usually translated from the Arabic as “apostasy,” but with connotations of rebellion and treason. Indeed, it is the worst of all crimes that a Muslim can commit, worse than murder (which the victim’s family may choose to forgive).
The New York Times does the bidding of the GOP?
Pigs fly.
Maybe, Tom Maguire spoke too soon about the NYT's soft focus on Obama?
-Via Instapundit.
This post is quite misleading. First, the item in the NYT is an opinion piece by Edward Luttwak, not a news article as this post misrepresents. Second, Luttwak’s piece discusses how other people may perceive Barack Obama, not how he identifies himself. If I were to take the analysis at face value in this post (not Luttwak’s piece), then I would be led to believe that no one could convert from one religion to another based on the perception of other people as opposed to what the person converting truly believed.
ReplyDeletecanadian tar heel, I don't think what one truly believes matters as the executioner's sword descends upon the neck of an apostate in Saudi Arabia or Pakistan. It is what other's perceive that causes this action.
ReplyDeleteGiven that I don't see this post as misleading. What amazes me is how long it has taken for someone in the MSM to finally recognize that, despite whatever religion Obama has chosen, he will be viewed by the muslim world as an apostate.
This piece illustrates one of the added benefits of an Obama candidacy and presidency: public education about Islam, particularly the dangers of Islam, as anti-Islamists will increasingly sound the alarm about what they perceive are potential Islam-related dangers posed if Obama wins. I think this is great! People will start buying books, read the Quran and Hadith, and fight to protect our country from creeping sharia.
ReplyDeleteSimultaneously Islamic nations might patiently wait to see if perhaps Obama can be wooed and become a "revert."
(With McCain, the public might just assume the military vet has things in control and stay ignorant not realizing until too late he's continuing policies that actually strengthen the Islamic imperialists that really aren't our "allies" or "friends".)
ObaMA'S FATHER was a Christian Missionary who later converted to Islam...
ReplyDelete"ObaMA'S FATHER was a Christian Missionary who later converted to Islam"...
ReplyDeleteGot something credible to back that up anon @ 9:45 AM?
Meanwhile over a year ago the UK Daily Mail reported the following: A drunk and a bigot - what the US Presidental hopeful HASN'T said about his father...
"Grandfather Obama sent his son to a missionary school but after completing his education, the youth could find little work except goatherding in his remote village of Nyangoma Kogela, in the roadless hills of Western Kenya.
At 18, he married a girl called Kezia. But Obama Snr was more interested in politics and economics than his family and his political leanings had been brought to the notice of leaders of the Kenyan Independence movement.
He was put forward for an American-sponsored scholarship in economics, with the idea being that he would eventually use his Western-honed skills in the new Kenya. At the age of 23 he headed for university in Hawaii, leaving behind the pregnant Kezia and their baby son.
Relatives say he was already a slick womaniser and, once in Honolulu, he promptly persuaded a fellow student called Ann - a naive 18-year-old white girl - to marry him. Barack Jnr was born in August, 1961.
Two years later, Obama Snr was on the move again. He was accepted at Harvard, and left his little boy and wife behind when he moved to the exclusive east coast university."...
Yep, Obama's dad sure does sound like a Christian from that description...
Do you think that someone going to a missionary school automatically made that person a Christian?
Of course, as most Americans understand it, Senator Obama is not a Muslim. He chose to become a Christian, and indeed has written convincingly to explain how he arrived at his choice and how important his Christian faith is to him.
ReplyDeleteConvincingly maybe to the someone lacking any real understanding of the Christian faith but certainly not to any knowledgeable Christian who takes their faith seriously.
The NYT is a member of a fundamentalist sect whose devotion to 'multiculturalism' is paramount. Its discovery of Obama's orgins, and the Islamic doctrine of his father's religion passing rigidly to his son, has nothing to do with Obama's current religious status. More than likely, the NYT wholeheartedly approves of his membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ, which has a 'non-negotiable commitment to Africa', and has corrosive opinions on current civil life in the USA.
ReplyDeleteWhat the Times is doing in this article is raising higher the multicultural flag and proudly telling its readers that Obama's one of US - or rather two of us, since he can be described as members of two downtrodden minorities at once, and therefore double-worthy of all the votes any person can cast.
sorry It was his grandfather who was christian.
ReplyDeleteFrom Juan Cole: "Obama's grandfather Hussein Onyango Obama, from whom his middle name comes, served in the British army during World War I and for some time was a Christian who served missionaries. He ultimately converted to Islam in Zanzibar.
http://genealogy.about.com/od/aframertrees/p/barack_obama.htm
Thanks anon for that reply...
ReplyDeleteBTW interesting stuff...
If it talks like a duck, but it doesn't walk like a duck, it isn't a duck. Obama may say he is a Christian, but his works show that he isn't a Christian; therefore, he is not a Christian.
ReplyDeleteA man cannot stand and state that he supports abortion - late-term or otherwise, and in the same breath state he is a Christian. It would be no different if Obama stated that he condones pre-meditated murder and follows this up with, and I am a Christian.
So what is he?
Obama was born a Muslim and learned about Islam in his youth, and he has been a participating and financial supporter of Trinity United Church of Christ, which is a supporter of Muslim leaders and terrorist organizations.
Am I missing something, or isn't Obama a hypocrite.
"Noun 1. hypocrite - a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives"
This post is not misleading, and it should not have anything to do with the selection of the next US president.
ReplyDeleteIt is something the people of the US need to know.
Valerie
All you need to know about Barak Hussein Obama and his religion can be found in this little video.
ReplyDeleteGo about 5 minutes in and you will learn all about Black Liberation Theology (BLT) which is what his "christian" church and his "pastors" preach.
I heard Obama say on TV, "John McCain is running for President Bush's third term."
ReplyDeleteSo, who is fear-mongering here! Obama knows in his own little mind, that with President Bush's approval ratings down, this will give voters cause for concern if they vote in John McCain. I guess only Obama believes he has a right to warn voters - too bad, he couldn't get any of his facts straight even if he tried really hard.
Everyone:
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty bizarre to label someone as a Muslim, whose ties to the religion are limited. Obama's father left him and his mother when he was little. Obama's father was an agnostic, but gave Obama his middle name, a family name.
And it defies common sense to argue that he's a Muslim, simply because other people might percieve him to be. In fact, such an argument misses the whole point of Luttwak's op-ed. Although I strongly disagree with Luttwak, he suggests that the ties of Obama's extended family to Islam may hinder American foreign policy. This is far fetched to say the least, but arguing that Luttwak's opinion piece is proof that Obama is really a Muslim is simply ridiculous.
Joanne:
Obama may say he is a Christian, but his works show that he isn't a Christian; therefore, he is not a Christian.
Althought I completely disagree with you on that point regarding Obama, I'd like to adopt the standard you've provided, for the sake of argument, in order to add a few more people: eg, Jarrey Falwell, Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Michael Harris, Rev. Wright, et al.
After reading the original post, the opinion piece from the NYT and all of these comments, I would like to say a few things. First of all, I have a degree in Islamic Studies and have over 10 years experience in the field. I put this out there just so you know where I am coming from.
ReplyDeleteThe NYT piece has merit. As long as Obama's father and or grandfather were Muslim at any time, then the majority of Muslims, especially those with extremist leanings, will see Obama as an apostate and, therefore, find it perfectly acceptable to kill him. By Shari'a law, the penalty for apostasy (sp?) is death. There is no other punishment. If he becomes president, this could cause major problems when traveling abroad or when trying to deal with Muslim run nations. It doesn't matter how the citizens of this country see him. To us, his religion is irrevlevant when holding a political office, but our culture is different than that of majority Muslim nations and it becomes difficult for us to understand why renouncing one religion and accepting another can mean death. This is part of the Muslim culture.
"The NYT piece has merit"...
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, Luttwak is no one's fool...
This observation basically tells the tale: "But it is a mistake to conflate his African identity with his Muslim heritage. Senator Obama is half African by birth and Africans can understandably identify with him. In Islam, however, there is no such thing as a half-Muslim. Like all monotheistic religions, Islam is an exclusive faith."...
I of course wonder if Obama really has religion but I'm not sure that in light of his other, numerous gaffs and outright lies, character content might be more important than religious affiliation, right?...
Consider this seminal piece by Edward Luttwak: Give War a Chance
AirborneVet,
ReplyDeleteBINGO! We have a winner!
A man cannot stand and state that he supports abortion - late-term or otherwise, and in the same breath state he is a Christian.
ReplyDeleteThis is not true unless one is a Catholic. There is evidence that abortions are not prohibited, see for example Exodus 21:22.
I heard Obama say on TV, "John McCain is running for President Bush's third term."
ReplyDeleteSo, who is fear-mongering here!
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) is, in your terms:
BLITZER: So it would be in effect a third Bush term when it came to pro-growth tax policies?
BLUNT: It would be. I think it would be. And I think that’s a good thing.
Even the NRO isn't buying this one:
ReplyDeleteUPDATE: Ali Eteraz writes in to note, "Islamic law recognizes abandonment by the biological father. Obama's Kenyan father abandoned Obama. As such, any religious imprimatur he may have had over Obama — which is already a stretch since the man was an atheist — is null and void... Under Islamic law, step-fathers do not acquire ownership over the child. Their relationship to the child emanates from their relationship to the child's mother. Again, Obama's mother was not Muslim. If a practicing Muslim man marries a Christian woman with children from a previous marriage, her children wouldn't automatically become Muslim. Here, the new father wasn't even practicing."
LINK:
http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YTMyZWQzN2IxYzY5NmIzYjQ0MDI2ZTYwMjIxNWEwYTU=
Canadian Tar Heel: does it hurt much to work at being so obtuse? Are you getting paid for writing such idiocy, or are you just a natural candidate for the Olympic Point Missing Event?
ReplyDeleteNO ONE on this thread has claimed that Obama is a Muslim. Is it that hard to read the words? What *has* been said is that, under the generally understood rules of Islam (we didn't make these rules, the Muslims accept them as coming from Allah), Obama is an apostate Muslim since both his father and grandfather at some point in time were Muslims.
Perhaps you would like to discuss the actual topic of this thread instead of continuing the poo flinging?
Steve j: unfortunately your NRO link leads to a blank page, so I can't check out the post. Is there a general claim that Muslim biological fathers who abandon their children means that the children are no longer Muslim? If so, I'd hope that you have better than what appears to be third- or fourth-hand evidence for that.
ReplyDeleteAnd there is a vast difference between "a third Bush term when it came to pro-growth tax policies" and "a third Bush term" but then I suspect you know that and are just being disingenuous. However, when all one has to bring to a gunfight is a rubber knife, I suppose one must do the best one can.
++
ReplyDeleteBarack Obama's Muslim Childhood
excerpts:
[Obama's Kenyan birth father: 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. Only Muslim children are named "Hussein".
Obama's Indonesian family: His stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, was also a Muslim. In fact, as Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng explained to Jodi Kantor of the New York Times: "My whole family was Muslim, and most of the people I knew were Muslim." An Indonesian publication, the Banjarmasin Post reports a former classmate, Rony Amir, recalling that "All the relatives of Barry's father were very devout Muslims."]
["Barack Hussein Obama was registered under the name ‘Barry Soetoro' serial number 203 and entered the Franciscan Asisi Primary School on 1 January 1968 and sat in class 1B. … Barry's religion was listed as Islam."]
The Obama Muslim Shell Game
excerpts:
[Yet the accumulated research from primary sources who knew Obama from his childhood indicate that he was a devout Muslim, the son of a devout Muslim, the step-son of a devout Muslim and the grandson and namesake ("Hussein") of a devout Muslim. He was registered in school as a Muslim and demonstrated his ability to chant praise to Allah in impressive Arab-accented tones even as an adult. Just as he has not disavowed his "uncle" Jeremiah, neither has he disavowed his Muslim faith that he was born into, raised with, celebrated and never abandoned. He just covered it over with a thin veneer of his own self-styled "Christianity."]
[In his autobiography, "Dreams From My Father," Obama mentions studying the Koran and describes the public school as "a Muslim school."
"In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Koranic studies."]
links @ link..
got this link from Joanne a long time ago.. ;)
Obama, Apostasy, and Ahmadinejad’s Iran
excerpt:
[Okay Obama, don’t claim that no one warned you. If you get elected President and you receive an invitation from your fellow Muslim brother Ahmadinejad to make good on your promise and visit him in Tehran for a tête-à-tête, don’t you do it. BBC’s recent report ought to be enough for you to recant your foolish and naïve promise:
“The European Union has criticized the new penal code being drafted in Iran, particularly a section that imposes the death penalty for giving up Islam…Death for apostasy already exists in Iran under Sharia or “Islamic - law.”]
==
++
ReplyDeletere: bg @ 10:39 PM..
meant to address my post to AirborneVet
@ 2:50 PM to back up what he/she said..
==
Barak Obama is running for Jimmy Carter's second term.
ReplyDeleteThe point that airbornevet doesn't raise is that since they are duty bound to kill or protest al-'Bama, Islam would be sending what message if they didn't protest or try to kill the apostate president? Their silence could be just as telling, in fact they should be screaming right now.
ReplyDeleteI think that this has larger implications than the cartoons. And another thought, doesn't Ellison follow the koran?
"A man cannot stand and state that he supports abortion - late-term or otherwise, and in the same breath state he is a Christian." by me
ReplyDelete"This is not true unless one is a Catholic. There is evidence that abortions are not prohibited, see for example Exodus 21:22." by Steve J.
Steve, you best go back and read your Bible. Here is the verse and the one that follows -
"If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life."
This is pretty clear, even for a layman, that if a man hurts a woman so that she loses her child, he will surely be punished according to the punishment determined by the husband and he shall also pay as the judges determine. If mischief follows, the man's life will be taken.
I haven't a clue how you figure abortion is somehow not prohibited.
mike h. - so true, and it is very telling that so many Muslim organizations, countries, and peoples are supporting Obama. It seems to me they all think he is lying about being Muslim or else we would be hearing an outcry or a fatwa issued for his killing by them.
ReplyDeletePeople mention that Obama's mother was a Christian, but Obama himself stated in his own writing to the effect that his mother had no religion whatsoever at the time of her death, and rather walked through life without one.