Allegations that Barack Obama secretly follows Islam, or that he is the anti-Christ foretold in Biblical prophecies, have been suggested since he campaigned for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and have proliferated since his election as President of the U.S. in 2008. As with conspiracy theories surrounding his citizenship status, these false claims are promoted by various fringe theorists and political opponents.[1][2] U.S. bloggers and talk radio hosts have particularly promoted the theories. Despite the fact that these assertions are false, belief of these claims in the public sphere have endured and, in some cases, even expanded during Obamas Presidency according to the Pew Research Center, with over one in seven Americans (including one third of conservative Republicans) labeling him as a Muslim.[3] [4] Contents [hide] 1 Claims that Obama secretly practices Islam 1.1 Quran claim 1.2 Madrasah claim 1.3 Middle name Mohammed claim 2 Claims that Obama is the Antichrist 3 Political polls 4 Barack Obamas response 4.1 In person 4.2 Institutional 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Claims that Obama secretly practices Islam[edit] See also: Public image of Barack Obama § Religion Obama was baptized into the United Church of Christ (UCC) denomination and formally joined it in 1988.[5] He left the UCC in 2008 because of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy.[6] He now worships with a Southern Baptist pastor at Camp David but has not become a formal member of any church since 2008.[7] Though Obama is a practicing Christian,[8][9][10] and he was chiefly raised by his mother and her Christian parents, both his father Barack Obama, Sr., with whom he lived only as a baby, and his stepfather Lolo Soetoro with whom he lived during his early childhood were nominally Muslims. This familial connection to Islam, among other things, is the basis of a common claim lodged by conspiracy theorists that Obama secretly practices Islam. According to the Los Angeles Times, false rumors saying that Obama was secretly a Muslim started during his campaign for the United States Senate in 2004 and had expanded through viral e-mails by 2006. The Times compared these rumors to earlier false rumors about 2000 presidential candidate John McCain fathering a dark-skinned child out of wedlock.[11] The rumors were subsequently promoted by conservative talk show hosts, including Michael Savage.[12] In December 2007 the Hillary Clinton campaign asked a volunteer county coordinator to step down after she forwarded an e-mail message which repeated the false rumor that Obama was Muslim.[13] In June 2008, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, himself Jewish, spoke out to Jewish voters in Florida against false e-mail rumors which said that Obama was secretly a Muslim and did not support Israel. Bloomberg said: I hope all of you will join me throughout this campaign in strongly speaking out against this fear mongering, no matter who youll be voting for.[14] Quran claim[edit] A chain e-mail circulating during the presidential campaign claimed that Obama took his oath of office as a U.S. Senator in 2005 while placing his hand on a Quran rather than a Bible. This claim is false, as Obama was sworn into office using a Bible that he owned. The claim may have been inspired by a photo-op re-enactment of the 2007 swearing-in of U.S. Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota, who used a Quran that had belonged to Thomas Jefferson.[15] Madrasah claim[edit] An early version of a rumor that Obama had spent at least four years in a so-called madrassa, or Muslim seminary, in Indonesia[12] was found in an article published by Insight on the News, a magazine that was published by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate then owned by the Unification Church. Insight on the News ceased publication soon after the incident. Its editor, Jeff Kuhner, claimed that a person working for the Clinton campaign had told him that the campaign was preparing an accusation that her rival Senator Barack Obama had covered up a brief period he had spent in an Islamic religious school in Indonesia when he was six. Senator Clinton denied the allegations. When interviewed by The New York Times, Kuhner did not name the person said to be his reporters source.[16] Obama attended two schools during the four years he lived in Indonesia as a child (1967–1971). From the first grade until some time in the third grade he attended the Roman Catholic St. Francis Assisi School, where classes began and ended each day with Christian prayers. He was registered there as Muslim because of his stepfathers nominal religion. At some point during the third grade he transferred to State Elementary School Menteng 01, also known as Besuki School, for less than a year. Besuki is a secular public school. Students there wear Western clothing, and the Chicago Tribune described the school as so progressive that teachers wore miniskirts and all students were encouraged to celebrate Christmas.[17][18][19] Soon after Insights story, CNN reporter John Vause visited State Elementary School Menteng 01 and found that each student received two hours of religious instruction per week in his or her own faith. Vause was told by Hardi Priyono, deputy headmaster of the school, This is a public school. We dont focus on religion. In our daily lives, we try to respect religion, but we dont give preferential treatment.[20] Interviews by Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press found that students of all faiths have been welcome there since before Obamas attendance. Akmad Solichin, the vice principal of the school, told Pickler: The allegations are completely baseless. Yes, most of our students are Muslim, but there are Christians as well. Everyones welcome here ... its a public school.[21] Middle name Mohammed claim[edit] One chain e-mail claimed incorrectly that President Obamas middle name is Mohammed or Muhammed. His actual middle name is Hussein.[22][23] Claims that Obama is the Antichrist[edit] During the 2008 presidential campaign, one chain e-mail accused Barack Obama of secretly being the biblical Antichrist, saying: According to The Book of Revelations the anti-christ is: The anti-christ will be a man, in his 40s, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, he will destroy everything is it OBAMA??[24] The word Antichrist does not appear in the Book of Revelation (though it does appear in 1 John and 2 John); the Book of Revelation instead refers to The Beast. The Book of Revelation never mentions the Beasts age, nor does it include any references to Muslim descent, as the religion of Islam was not founded until hundreds of years after the book was written.[24] During the 2008 presidential campaign, former comedian and political commentator Victoria Jackson made claims that Obama bears traits that resemble the anti-Christ.[25] The radical Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kansas, frequently uses signs at their controversial protests claiming Obama to be an antichrist and runs a website dedicated to proving it, BeastObama.[26]
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 02:56:26 +0000
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