Was Obama Raised Muslim?

Consider the evidence:

As Barack Obama's candidacy comes under increasing scrutiny, his account of his religious upbringing deserves careful attention for what it tells us about the candidate's integrity.

Obama asserted in December, "I've always been a Christian," and he has adamantly denied ever having been a Muslim. "The only connection I've had to Islam is that my grandfather on my father's side came from that country [Kenya]. But I've never practiced Islam."

In February, he claimed, "I have never been a Muslim.... other than my name and the fact that I lived in a populous Muslim country for four years when I was a child [Indonesia, 1967-71] I have very little connection to the Islamic religion."

"Always" and "never" leave little room for equivocation. But many biographical facts, culled mainly from the American press, suggest that, when growing up, the Democratic candidate for president both saw himself and was seen as a Muslim.

• 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.

• 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."

• Obama's Catholic school in Jakarta: Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press reports that "documents showed he enrolled as a Muslim" while at a Catholic school during first through third grades. Kim Barker of The Chicago Tribune confirms that Obama was "listed as a Muslim on the registration form for the Catholic school."

• The public school: Paul Watson of The Los Angeles Times learned from Indonesians familiar with Obama when he lived in Jakarta that he "was registered by his family as a Muslim at both schools he attended." Haroon Siddiqui of The Toronto Star visited the Jakarta public school Obama attended and found that "Three of his teachers have said he was enrolled as a Muslim." Although Siddiqui cautions that "With the school records missing, eaten by bugs, one has to rely on people's shifting memories," he cites only one retired teacher, Tine Hahiyari, retracting her earlier certainty about Obama's being registered as a Muslim.

• Barack Obama's public school in Jakarta, Koran class: In his autobiography, Dreams of My Father, Obama relates how he got into trouble for making faces during Koran studies. Indeed, Obama still retains knowledge from that class: Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times reports that Obama "recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them [to Kristof] with a first-rate accent."

• Mosque attendance: Obama's half-sister recalled that the family attended the mosque "for big communal events." Watson learned from childhood friends that "Obama sometimes went to Friday prayers at the local mosque." Barker found that "Obama occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers." One Indonesia friend, Zulfin Adi, states that Obama "was Muslim. He went to the mosque. I remember him wearing a sarong" (a garment associated with Muslims).

• Piety: Obama himself says that while living in Indonesia, a Muslim country, he "didn't practice [Islam]." Indonesians differ in their memories of him. One, Rony Amir, describes Obama as "previously quite religious in Islam."

Assuming that these facts are correct, does it matter?

In this age of Islamic terror, of course it does.  It bears on Obama's perspective, the values that were inculcated in him in his early life, and much more.  Given that Obama's 20-year spiritual advisor Rev. Jeremiah Wright seems still to remain rather enmeshed with the Nation of Islam (which provided bodyguards for his appearance at the National Press Club this week), it does matter.

Comments

[angela vail]

I believe that since obama was not born as a natural born citizen of this great nation, the USA, then how can he even have the right to run for the presidency anyway? How can we allow someone to come into our government who is a muslim or islamic who is raised to hate us christian or jewish,people who believe in any other faith than muslim or islamic? This great nation was founded on the properties of GOD-and even though it has become a very large melting pot of different faiths, most of us will stand and tell the truth in regard to what we believe in, Don"t let this deceptor win vote McCain at least he has served his country and been proud to tell the truth.

[Yes but truthfully]

"I believe that since obama was not born as a natural born citizen of this great nation..." Hmmm.

Anyway Angela - we do have a problem then. I guess both the Dems and Reps will have to select new candiadtes hey...

"John McCain was born August 29, 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone. It’s a common misunderstanding that the zone was a U.S. territory.

The US Constitution states, “No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.”

“Natural Born Citizen” - “is where ONLY the natural act of one being born in a place determines the status of ones citizenship with no additional stipulations necessary to influence that status”

No law or court ruling has ever established the precise definition of a natural born citizen. It is generally agreed that a natural born citizen of the United States is any person born in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia. "

[Andrew Boylston]

Hawaii was admitted to the Union on August 21, 1959.

Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu Hawaii to Ann Dunham, a U.S. Citizen. He qualifies as a natural born U.S. Citizen.

Though John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone, he was born at Coco Solo Naval Air Station to U.S. Citizen parents, and as military bases are generally considered to be United States property and therefore territory, he also qualifies as a natural born U.S. Citizen.

They are both eligible to run for the Presidency.

Their religion has nothing to do with their eligibility. Neither does their having cheated on their crippled first wife. (See how inappropriate that is?)

Let's keep it fair and balanced, and I don't mean the "Fox News" definition either. I mean actually fair and balanced.

Try laying out some facts on the economy, on health care, on education, on the mortgage crisis. These are the things I want to hear about from fellow Republicans, not tabloid speculation and outright slander.

[Yes but truthfully]

Just as an extra:

The land that the US used for it's military bases was LEASED from panama - therefore not territory of the US - order under the rules of US law - so if you go by the letter of the law - he really was not born in the US.

But hey - I just added the comment to level things.

I agree - the US is probably in the most dire financial state it has EVER been in and people should choose wisely ...