Regardless of the facts, people believe what they want to believe. Well, what are the facts about Barack Obama and his religious beliefs?
Snopes.com, the website that investigates rumors and then reports on whether the rumor is true or false, had addressed the rumor concerning Barack Obama being a Muslim more than two years ago. Move your computer mouse over and then click to read that report, "Who is Barack Obama?".
Despite all the facts to the contrary, despite factual information distributed by numerous sources on numerous occasions in numerous forms to educate the American public, despite all the repeated efforts to dispel the false belief that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, the number of people who actually believe that President Obama is a Muslim has increased.
For example, read some excerpts from the latest poll from The Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life:
A new national survey by the Pew Research Center finds that nearly one-in-five Americans (18%) now say Obama is a Muslim ...Click over to read the entire report:
Roughly a third of conservative Republicans (34%) say Obama is a Muslim, as do 30% of those who disapprove of Obama’s job performance. ...
The belief that Obama is a Muslim has increased most sharply among Republicans (up 14 points since 2009), especially conservative Republicans (up 16 points). But the number of independents who say Obama is a Muslim has also increased significantly (up eight points). ...
Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim.
I am telling you in very simple plain language,
Ignorant people believe President Barack Obama is a Muslim.
Let your computer mouse move on over and click to read:
Barack Hussein Obama: Once a Muslim, Always A Muslim by Debbie Schlussel, debbieschlussel.com;
(Reverend) Franklin Graham: Obama born a Muslim, a Christian Now by Sarah Pulliam Bailey, ChristianityToday Politics Blog;
President Obama: Muslim Missionary by Chuck Norris, Townhall.com; and finally,
31% of Republicans believe Barack Obama is Muslim from POLITICO.
And yet, the question still remains:
Is Barack Obama Muslim?
And once again, I proclaim:
Ignorant people believe President Barack Obama is a Muslim.
3 comments:
Roland,
H L Menken defined faith as "an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable". Mark Twain that, "In politics and religion, people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second hand, and without examination."
I think that it's clear that using polling data to determine the truth of any matter is improper methodology.
While I do not believe that the president is a practicing Muslim, one can make the case (real or imagined) by connecting some of the dots. President Barack Obama was born the son of Barack Obama Sr. Mr Obama Sr was a Muslim at one time in his life (cited in Wiki, an admittedly questionable source) and according to the Quran, when one is a believer in Islam, one is always so. Likewise, a child born to a Muslim father is a Muslim (their definition, not mine).
Again, I think (assessment of facts vs. emotions) that a person decides their own beliefs; and by this definition the president is not and never has been a Muslim. I can however see how the mistake could be made, when considering the facts from a certain point of view.
He may not be a
Muslim. But, given his choice of pastors, I wonder about his christianity as well. I can't judge that, though, only God can. I can only judge his political side, which I find wanting.
TH and CWM,
I steadfastly maintain that an individual's personally held religious belief is what that person says it is, not what any other person says it is.
If one does not identify as a member of a particular religious sect or denomination, it is totally illogical to use the definition from that religious belief to label the person who does not accept that belief, ergo that label.
Even within the major recognized organized religions, there are a wide variety of denominations, many of which claim to be the correct version and concurrently chastising the others as being incorrect and of not being of the same religion. There are some Christian denominations who assert that other religious groups who affirm their own Christian identity as not being Christian; likewise with some followers of Islam and of Judaism, and so on and so forth.
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