Posted on 01/24/2007 10:39:13 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) fought back Wednesday against an allegation that he was educated at a radical Islamic school as a child in Indonesia, determined to avoid being tripped up by unsubstantiated charges like those that undermined John Kerry in 2004.
Interviews by The Associated Press at the elementary school in Jakarta found that it's a public and secular institution that has been open to students of all faiths since before the White House hopeful attended in the late 1960s.
Obama, who was born in Hawaii, moved to Indonesia at age 6 to live with his mother and stepfather, attending schools in the country until age 10, when he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents.
"The allegations are completely baseless," said Akmad Solichin, the vice principal at SDN Menteng 1, who added, "Yes, most of our students are Muslim, but there are Christians as well. Everyone's welcome here ... it's a public school."
A spokesman for Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs said claims that Obama studied at an Islamic school are groundless.
"SDN Menteng 1 is a public primary school that is open to people of all faiths," said the spokesman, Sutopo, who goes by only one name. "Moreover, he studied earlier at Fransiskus Assisi, which is clearly a Catholic school."
The contention that Obama was educated at a radical Muslim madrassa surfaced on the Web site of the conservative Insight magazine the day after Obama announced he was jumping into the 2008 presidential race. Conservative Internet blogs and the Fox News Channel picked up the story and spread the charges just as his candidacy was getting off the ground.
Obama on Wednesday called the reports "scurrilous," and his communications director e-mailed reporters a lengthy memo attempting to set the record straight.
"I think they recognize that the notion that me going to school in Indonesia for two years at a public school there at the age of 7 and 8 is probably not going to be endangering in some way the people of America," Obama said on NBC's "Today" show.
The push-back was a signal Obama would fight to protect his reputation in the presidential campaign.
Many Democrats argued that Kerry's failure to challenge aggressively his critics in the 2004 presidential race cost him in his effort to unseat President Bush. A group with conservative ties, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, charged that Kerry did not deserve the medals he won in the Vietnam War — despite his combat record of bravery and valor. Kerry announced Wednesday that he will not run again in 2008.
"We will not be swift-boated," said Obama communications director Robert Gibbs. "And we won't take allegations that are patently untrue lying down."
Obama's mother, divorced from Obama's father, married a man from Indonesia named Lolo Soetoro, and the family relocated to the country from 1967-71. At first, Obama attended the Catholic school, Fransiskus Assisis, where documents showed he enrolled as a Muslim, the religion of his stepfather.
The document required that each student choose one of five state-sanctioned religions when registering — Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic or Protestant. Gibbs said he wasn't sure why the document had Obama listed as a Muslim.
"Senator Obama has never been a Muslim," Gibbs said. "As a six-year-old in Catholic school, he studied the catechism."
The Illinois senator is a member of the United Church of Christ.
Iis Darmawan, 63, Obama's kindergarten teacher, remembers him as an exceptionally tall and curly haired child who quickly picked up the local language and had sharp math skills. "He wrote an essay titled, 'I Want To Become President,'" the teacher said.
Obama later transferred to SDN Menteng 1 — the elite, secular elementary school at the center of the controversy. The school is public but is very competitive and has exceptionally high standards. It is located in one of the most affluent parts of Jakarta and attracts mostly middle- to upper-class students, among them several of former dictator Suharto's grandchildren.
Indonesia is home to several of the most radical Islamic schools in Southeast Asia, some with alleged terrorist links. But Solichin, who proudly pointed to a photo of a young Barry Obama, as he was known, said his school is not one of them.
Those tied to the school say they are proud to have had a student like Obama, and hope that, if he is elected president, his ties to Indonesia will broaden his world perspective and his views on religion.
Sri Murtiningsih, who retired from Menteng 1 recently after 39 years of teaching, said she has vivid memories of the left-handed boy who followed a standard curriculum of math, writing, and language, together with twice-weekly religious affairs classes and sports.
Murtiningsih said neighbors ran to her house after seeing a television report about his intention to run for president.
"They were yelling, 'Your old student is going to take Bush's job!'" she said. "Tears filled my eyes."
___
McDowell and Associated Press reporters Ali Kotarumalos and Zakki Hakim contributed to this report from Jakarta, Indonesia.
CNN debunks false report about Obama ^
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1771871/posts
Posted by roostercogburn
On News/Activism ^ 01/22/2007 3:27:07 PM PST · 82 replies · 3,140+ views
cnn.com ^
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Allegations that Sen. Barack Obama was educated in a radical Muslim school known as a "madrassa" are not accurate, according to CNN reporting. Insight Magazine, which is owned by the same company as The Washington Times, reported on its Web site last week that associates of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, had unearthed information the Illinois Democrat and likely presidential candidate attended a Muslim religious school known for teaching the most fundamentalist form of Islam.
You can bet whatever skeletons this guy has hanging in his closet, Hellary will expose. Repubs need not do anything.
Fat into the fire, looks like.
Interesting that it took so long for this.
"said the spokesman, Sutopo, who goes by only one name"
Like Cher, Bono, Madonna, and Elvis?
It sure took them long enough to dig up their pack of lies.
Perhaps but Hillary's hands remain "clean" while Republicans are smeared and against the Zogbyism continues against the Swift Boat Veterans.
The objective of tainting conservative critics remains.
There won't be blowback on the Democrats as they throw mud at each other.
Well, Hillary, where do we go from here? Try to dig up something else. Hopefully you and Barak Hussein Obama will destroy each other before the first Primary or caucus.
It didn`t take long. She just announced she was running this week, and immediately after this story comes out of Obama attending this school. Gee, what a coincidence.
Mohammedans actually use only one name. The name we take as the surname is generally the father's given name. Some, usually the ones from more prominent families use thei father's name and add to it the grandfather's name and then perhaps the place of birth or the famiy center.A formal name may be quite lengthy and be composed of a number of such elements. It's like Mohammed son of Mohammed son of Mohammed from Cleveland.
Most Indonesians go by one name.
Obama's mother, divorced from Obama's father, married a man from Indonesia named Lolo Soetoro, and the family relocated to the country from 1967-71. At first, Obama attended the Catholic school, Fransiskus Assisis, where documents showed he enrolled as a Muslim, the religion of his stepfather.The document required that each student choose one of five state-sanctioned religions when registering — Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic or Protestant. Gibbs said he wasn't sure why the document had Obama listed as a Muslim.
"Senator Obama has never been a Muslim," Gibbs said
Reminds me of John Kerry's statement in the Congressional Record claiming Irish heritage and then denying that it was anything he'd said (he blamed it on his staff). Always is someone else's fault that the record shows these things.
No matter how much he tries to dance out of this one, he is not going to be able to.
Good thing Obama was able to get his history changed so quickly. It might have been embarassing to find out that he did go to a Muslim school, but through quick thinking he was able to get that school changed into a public school... in an overwhelmingly Muslim country, 45 years ago.
What a good point. It would be interesting to see how many other public schools were in that country 45 years ago. My bet: None.
Bad example to pick...
The Swift Boat Veterans for TRUTH, had the goods on Kerry.
They were EYE WITNESSES....one even served on Kerry's boat.
They were NOT unsubstantiated..
Kerry could have attempted to prove his false version of events by simply signing his SF-180.... HE REFUSED.
Semper Fi
Left handed Presidents...
James A. Garfield
Herbert Hoover
Harry S. Truman
Gerald Ford
Ronald Reagan
George Bush
Bill Clinton
http://ask.yahoo.com/20000216.html
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