Osamaing Obama?

Rumors, Rumors, they're everywhere. I get this little ditties sent to me all the time. With the advent of the net and email, scurrilous rumors get passed on with the greatest of ease. And it would seem that seniors are most prone to this -- at least so it seems. I'm constantly telling my mother that the information in her post is untrue -- just go check snopes.com.
With good old Rush and his buddies liking to confuse Barack Obama's name with America's most wanted villain, Osama Bin Laden, it's no wonder. It's unfortunate that a newspaper of the caliber of the Washington Post sees the necessity to take up the issue of Barack Obama's faith. The idea that Obama converted to Christianity as a cover for his "secret" adherence to Islam would be ridiculous, if it didn't provide fodder for anti-Obama efforts. With America fearful of anything Muslim, to tar someone as a Muslim goes a long way to undermining their credibility.
You would think that having experience living in a developing country, having had first had encounters with Muslims, would be a good thing, something that would help him better understand the world in which we live. But such experience is held against him. Why? Out of fear, possibly. Out of bigotry, probably. If a woman can get turned down for a bank account in Lompoc, CA because she's wearing a hejab, most certainly we'll hold this "experience" against him.
Here's my message to my fellow Americans. Grow Up! Wise Up! Stop listening to rumors and think for yourself. If you don't like Obama because you disagree with his views on issues, fine. Vote for someone else. It's the same as with Mitt Romney. I'm not voting for him, not because he's a Mormon but because I disagree with his politics. The same is true of Rudy and Mike Huckabee. After all Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Al Gore were all Southern Baptists -- I could vote for them. It really doesn't matter whether or not Obama is a Muslim or not.
As Scott Paeth so rightly states:
Were Obama a "secret Muslim" the real issue would be one of honesty, not one of religion. A Muslim, per se, is no less qualified to lead the country than a Methodist or a Mormon. Of course, that possibility is rejected on its face by the nutjob right in this country. But the point is moot in any event, since its been well established that this is a rumor without foundation.
By the way, Obama joined Trinity UCC long before he went into politics!
Thanks goes to Scott Paeth for the pointer to this "issue."

Comments

Anonymous said…
It is clear that Obama purposefully wants to preserve ambiguity about his religious preferences. If he wanted to clearly indicate that he is a Christian, he would have adopted a *CHRISTIAN* name instead of the overtly *MUSLIM* "Barack Hussein". There is a long biblically sanctioned tradition of heathens changing their names upon becoming followers of Christ (particularly if their original names are offensive), for example Simon->Peter, Saul->Paul. So there is a lot of legitimacy in questioning Obama's religious proclivities.
Anonymous said…
No, there is no legitimacy in questioning Obama's religious proclivities because he didn't change his name to a 'Christian' name. And he is not, nor has he ever been ambiguous about his religion. Just because other people want to question his religion, doesn't mean he's not very clear about it. He has been a Christian for a long time. Actually, he was known in High School as "Barry" Obama and went back to Barrack while at Harvard Law School. So, if he was a 'secret' muslim, why didn't he just stay with the name "Barry"? Because he isn't a secret muslim, he isn't any kind of muslim. If you want to criticize him, critize him because he didn't find Jesus until he started working for the poor, unemployed people from the South Side of Chicago. Like many liberals, he was pretty secular, no religion at all. He comes to Jesus not in a born again way, but through personal conviction and acceptance of the values of Christianity. (It didn't hurt that he met his wife and settled down to wonderful family life. It's funny how that happens, isn't it?)

If you don't want to vote for him don't. If you want to believe lies, then go ahead. If you want to read a really good book about a truly remarkable American, read his first book "Dreams of My Father" were he writes of his childhood and growing up as a bi-racial child in Hawaii with his white grandparents. He really writes a good book.

Ellen Hamm
St. Louis, MO

PS. I don't have a google email, so you can reply to me via ellenhamm@hotmail.com

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