This was published in David Horowitz’s NewsReal blog. I think it is a reasonable and good explanation why many would answer the question in the affirmative. Notice though, this man met the young Obama while he was in Occidental College. Not many have written about that period, either because they had nothing to tell us or they did not want to tell us.
Barack Obama and Islam: As the Twig is Bent, So Grows the Tree
by John C. Drew, Ph.D.As a political scientist, I’ve always thought of Obama as a Muslim if only because I tend to categorize people by the cultural influences which impact them as children. Early influences, for example, help us predict later political party affiliations.
Surprisingly, Pew reports that the number of Americans who believe Barack Obama is a Muslim has jumped from 12% in early 2009 to 18% in 2010. Similarly, Pew reports a decline in the number of respondents who identify Obama as a Christian – 34% today compared to 48% in March 2009 and 51% during the Presidential campaign in October 2008. As usual, there is a less decisive group floating out there – adding up to a plurality of 43% – who respond that they do not know what is Obama’s religion. These undecided respondents are up from 34% in 2009.
I’m certain that if Pew telephoned me, I would have been one of the folks who said Obama was a Muslim and who would not have been given the time to fully explain what I mean.
First, I know that Obama’s step-father, Lolo Soetoro, was a practicing Muslim. According to freely available press accounts, Soetoro took little Obama with him to the mosque to pray and enrolled little Obama in school as a Muslim. So, it is best to consult wikipedia reference viagra pill cost someone or seek some Internet help for directions before the usage. It is advisable to take two tablets daily if one is suffering from flu and/or cold very frequently. tadalafil online Lower intake of zinc is another reason for tinnitus generic levitra from canada is age-related. This has caused all the problems buy levitra online to the man. Second, I know that Obama grew up in a predominantly Muslim country, Indonesia. Third, when I met the young Obama – while he was a sophomore at Occidental College – I can report that his closest friends were the Muslim Pakistani students on campus, in particular, an older Pakistani student named Mohammed Hasan Chandoo. Hasan visited Obama while he was a student at Columbia and attended Obama’s wedding to Michelle in 1992, unlike the African-Americans at Occidental who now claim they were close friends with the young Obama,.
As for Obama’s more contemporary connections to Islam, I pay the most attention to his words in his book, Audacity of Hope, where Obama calls into question the divinity of Christ. This is, in my view, a bright dividing line between being a Christian believer and being a Muslim adherent. I also know that Rev. Wright is a former Muslim and maintains close ties to the Muslim community. All of this information gives me confidence that Obama’s world view, his basic mental architecture, has more links to Islam than Christianity.
Nevertheless, I’m sure the media will spin the results of Pew’s poll as evidence of racism or religious intolerance or an effort to portray Obama as the “other.” My perspective, however, gives me an advantage over mainstream journalists who are puzzled about how Obama could be so completely foolish as to endorse the Ground Zero Mosque. In my view, he is simply defending his base, a base of Muslim adherents to whom Obama has shown considerable loyalty ever since he was a little child.
A great many of us have just used our common sense as we observed what the president has done in the past years. He has bowed to the Saudi king, he has apologized to many of the Muslim faith and been very unfriendly to Israel. True he also bowed to the Japanese emperor and the Chinese leader but one wonders why. Were these just cover for the previous bow to the Saudi king? It is odd that as leader of the United States, a very powerful nation that he would bow to anyone, or apologize for us.
I must admit I have thought his first allegiance is to Barack Hussein Obama, I could be wrong. Thanks for JimH for sending the link.
This is what I've been saying all along. All of us are hugely influenced by our early years. His early years were spent with and being raised by Muslims, why wouldn't he think as one. It's foolish to refuse to acknowledge this influence.