Obama a 'Secret Muslim' No More?

POLITICS DAILY ^ | 06/3/09 | DAVID KNOWLES

[kellynla]

Of all the silly claims that have been made about President Barack Obama, perhaps the silliest is that he is a "secret Muslim." The internet is full websites and viral e-mail that use doctored quotes from Obama's two books that purport to prove this assertion, and among his most ardent foes, the idea the Islam lurks in his heart like some sort of Trojan army has never really died away.

Witness the uproar that flared when Obama bowed to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah a few months ago. You see, purveyors of the "secret Muslim" theory bellowed, proof! For this hardy minority of American society, evidence of Obama's latent Islamist tendencies is not hard to find. He wants to talk to Iran. He's tough on Israel. He seems to be apologizing all the time. He's going back to the Middle East this week.

Well, adding fuel to this fire is a new piece by ABC's Jake Tapper and Sulen Miller that makes the case that, now that he's been elected, the president has suddenly become less secret about his Muslim heritage. Witness the recent statement made by Denis McDonough, deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications (now there's a mouthful):

"the president himself experienced Islam on three continents before he was able to--or before he's been able to visit, really, the heart of the Islamic world--you know, growing up in Indonesia, having a Muslim father--obviously Muslim Americans (are) a key part of Illinois and Chicago."

This is what passes for strategic communication these days? But seriously, the burning bit of news here, according to Tapper and Miller, is that, even though Obama wrote about his family ancestry and schooling in Dreams of My Father, we never heard Obama talk about his Muslim father during the campaign. Was it a concerted strategy to hide his roots from the public? Perhaps. Just as it was a similar strategy to paint Obama as a secret Muslim by those who didn't want him to be president.

The point is, of course Obama wanted people to focus on other issues besides his father's former religion (he became an agnostic by the time he met Obama's mother). Likewise, we might ask: Is emphasizing those ties now the wrong strategy when trying to foster greater cooperation with the Muslim world?

Yes, Obama has members of his extended family who are or were Muslim. Strategically shifting the emphasis of this fact doesn't make Obama any more or less of a Muslim himself. Nor does it make him dishonest. Rather, it shows that he's a smart politician.

Context is everything in political discourse, and while the ABC story does accurately note a shift in tone to a more open vocalization of Obama's Muslim ties, it doesn't really give much credit to the smear campaign launched against Obama in the '08 campaign.

Given widespread unease and prejudice against Muslims among Americans, especially in the wake of 9/11, the Obama campaign was perhaps understandably very sensitive during the primaries and general election to downplay the candidate's Muslim roots.

Gee, really? Yes, given the manner in which his opponents wielded Obama's middle name, the strategic releasing of a photograph showing Obama wearing Kenyan tribal garb, and all the scurrilous attempts made to paint him as a secret Muslim, I suppose it was perhaps understandable that he might be sensitive.

With its selective stringing together of quotes, along with its flashy title "The Emergence of President Obama's Muslim Roots", the ABC piece is already proving to be yet more fodder to those who cling to the belief that President will, at any moment, step forth from the White House wearing a turban and carrying a Koran.

[Texas resident]

The state run media will cover for our muzzie much more than the somewhat free media covered for the Kennedy family. The comment about obama slipping and stating that he was a muzzie is quite accurate. Thanks media, you brought us this nightmare and the ironic thing is that you will suffer along with the rest of us. Their idealogy blinded them and as some point it will come back to bite them in the butt. “America’s chickens have come home to roost”. I take that to mean that liberalism will be our downfall with our illegal, muslim, America hating, ignorant guy who plays president on TV and his media just swoons like he is some hollowwood star coming out of rehab for the eighth time.

[JoeA]

Talk about covering for him, Stephanapolous actually corrected him, said “Your Christian faith”, and Obama said yes, my Christian faith. Imagine what the outcry would be if it were anyone but Obama.

[the invisib1e hand]

obama is a christian to christians, a muslim to muslims; he is pro-life to pro-lifers, pro-abortion to pro-abortion people. He is all things to all people.

[Pagey]

Love This Post. He was born via a Muslim Father. Case Closed. By the time he leaves office, he will have declared himself a Muslim in some interview, somewhere and enough time will have passed that people won’t care. He’s taken the Bill Clinton Playbook of “deny deny deny” to the extreme, to the complete detriment of this nation. Just listen to the nonsense he’s been spouting everywhere the first 4 months of his presidency.

[Honorary Serb]

Is this Barack Hussein Obama’s real religion?

http://www.alittleleaven.com/2009/02/chrislam.html

I of course will be commenting on this forum after I hear Obama’s Cairo speech. But so far, the run-up to that speech is a total DISASTER!!!!

[Dajjal]

obumpa