Stop-Obama

Every time Obama claims to never having been a Muslim, it is an utter lie. (and I dare say, after the facts are revealed, a profound insult to Islam)

Maya Soetoro-Ng’s observations about the role of Islam in the life of the Obama family directly contradict those of her brother Barry.

While Obama, like Maya, is no longer Muslim, he is significantly closer to his Muslim relatives than to those of his a-religious mother. The reason I bring up this closeness, is to contextualize Obama’s relationship with Islam, and Islam’s role in Obama’s early development (as revealed by his sister, Maya Soetoro.)

Anywhere from 4 to 5 critical years of Obama’s life were spent as a declared Muslim. A period of time which took place when most children develop the foundations of their personal world-view, from 5.5 to 10.5 years of age. (considering he is 46, it means 1/10th of his life)

LA Times vs Chicago Tribune

There is a story to the evidence I am about to present. It comes from an LA Times article which is no longer publicly available, after having been attacked by a response in the Chicago Tribune. Many on the internet (especially a fake media watch dog, more like a pro-Obama media-attack-dog called Mediamatters) are now citing the Tribune article as truth (including Pipes), and ignoring the work of the much more important, and accurate LA Times. (that it is no longer free doesn’t help).

What those citing the Tribune forget, is that it is an entirely pointless two-pager with no original research, recycling the Obama campaign lines, and still failing to prove anything other than that Obama was a Muslim. A careful readers such as Pipes, still extracts the conclusion -even on the basis of the Tribune article alone- that “confirmed- Obama practiced Islam.”

The Tribune piece relies entirely on the publics’ uninformed confabulation of having to be observant in order to be Muslim. As pointed out previously, this is plain wrong. Telling readers that Obama’s Muslim father ate bacon, or that he wasn’t particularly observant, is simply a lie and at best amounts to saying that a Christian who did not turn the other cheek, when roughed up by his neighbor, wasn’t really a Christian (poor Evangelicals, all fakers I suppose).

The Tribune article is blatantly irrelevant to whether or not Obama considered himself Muslim, studied the Koran, prayed in a mosque, and celebrated Muslim holidays.

All of which he did, and which is factually incontrovertible.

So far, none of the evidence presented in the LA Times has been proven wrong. It stands as it was written. It is premature on both Pipes part, or anyone’s part, to discount such evidence. (Interested parties can go on the LA Times website and paste my quotes into the search bar, and will find the article in question, but will not be able to read it. This means the quote is there.)

Obama the Child Muslim

As a minimum, unlike kufar, dhimmi, or Ahl al Kitab worldwide, Obama had two years of formal studies in the Koran. He says so in his Dreams from my Father:

“In Indonesia, I had spent two years at a Muslim school. The teacher wrote to tell my mother that I made faces during Koranic studies.”

Obama largely ignores or forgets he made such a statement in his book. He does so because it has inevitable implications. Explaining a convenient typo, or memory lapse on Obama’s part, the LA Times clarifies that

When Obama attended 4th grade in 1971, Muslim children spent two hours a week studying Islam, and Christian children spent those two hours learning about the Christian religion.
Simple fact Obama was Muslim. Obama admits to studying Koran. Teachers, and witnesses and policy experts of the the Indonesian school system acknowledge say this would have implied he had been a Muslim.

Further simple facts. As a Muslim, Obama attended Mosques, celebrated Muslim Holidays, studied the Koran (and Arabic), prayed during the day (we don’t know how often), publicly identified as Muslim, and must have known the Shahada. Every time Obama claims to never having been a Muslim, it is an utter lie.

What is clear, from the testimony of just about anyone who came across Obama in Indonesia, is that far from just learning the Koran for two years, which required being a Muslim, Obama was a Muslim during the entire stay. This is incontrovertibly evidenced by his registration not just in the “Muslim” school as a Muslim, but in any Indonesian document where he is mentioned, including one from a Catholic Private school he attended for about three grades.

All documents have him as Muslim.

Obama was acknowledge as a Muslim from the moment his mother wedded Lolo Soetor, i.e. for the entire duration of his stay in Indonesia (estimated anywhere from 4 to 5 years). Obviously his Kenyan father’s religion only facilitated this identification.

Even when in a Catholic private school (which preceded his years in the public Muslim school) he was registered a Muslim, and contrary to absolutely everything he maintains today, he was excused from Bible study in favor of the Koran.

His campaign’s comments that he did his Hail Marys along with the rest of the “Christian” class, are entirely bogus. The particular Catholic school in question consisted of a minimum of 30 % Muslims, who had the right to opt out of any specifically Christian material, as Obama clearly did.

There is ample proof of Islamic practice in Obama’s family in Indonesia, while there is no proof of any Christian practice whatsoever. Not only does Obama’s sister openly acknowledge their family’s Islamic practice at the time, the fact that there was some animosity towards Christianity was openly admitted by Obama , as the Examiner recalls

Nor was he raised as a Christian by his mother, a white American named Ann Dunham who was deeply skeptical of religion. “Her memories of the Christians who populated her youth were not fond ones,” Obama wrote. “For my mother, organized religion too often dressed up closed-mindedness in the garb of piety, cruelty and oppression in the cloak of righteousness.”

There was no Christianity in the Obama household in Indonesia, and any mention on the Chicago Tribune’s part of Bibles is blatant manipulation of reader’s credulity.

Muslims respect the Bible (Al-Kitab) world over, and often cite both the Old Testament and New as their own. Having one in the home, implies nothing about their faith. Some time ago Indonesia could still boast of an even  more exotic Muslim tolerance of Hinduism and shamanism. Which isn’t in too marked a contrast from Islam in other parts of the world, where it is can also be surprisingly varied. In Central Asia for example, alcohol is tolerated by mainstream Islam, while in Iran, it is not; in Turkey polygamy in respect to family life,  and the scarf in respect to public schools, are outlawed. In Saudi Arabia polygamy is virtually encouraged, and the veil is a must.

In incorporating elements of Hinduism and shamanism, Indonesia’s Muslims are no different from Indonesia’s Christians, like those in East Timor (at the time of Obama’s youth, part of Indonesia) who integrate shamaism and remnants of Hindu traditions in a nominally Catholic faith.

So when the LA Times, after on-the-ground research by its journalists, concludes that Obama was considered a Muslim by everyone who knew him while in Indonesia, readers should feel personally insulted by the Chicago Tribune’s and Obama campaign’s attemp to whitewash it.

The facts of the matter are, that Obama’s

former Roman Catholic and Muslim teachers, along with two people who were identified by Obama’s grade-school teacher as childhood friends, say Obama was registered by his family as a Muslim at both schools he attended. That registration meant that during the third and fourth grades, Obama learned about Islam for two hours each week in religion class. [LA Times]

The case is closed on this. The Obama campaign has simply responded with puzzlement about the Catholic school registration, while choosing to ignore all other instances of the word “Muslim” next to Obama’s name.

One notable Obama spokesman said he couldn’t explain why Obama was registered as Muslim (he should talk to Obama’s sister) in a Catholic school, but insisted it had been an error!

Surprise surprise when an “objective” source like a newspaper in Chicago with no links to Obama’s campaign says (aha, really?):

The enrollment form from the Catholic school, which has been cited as evidence that Obama was a Muslim in Indonesia, was rife with errors. It listed Obama as an Indonesian, listed his previous school incorrectly and failed to list his mother, Ann, at all. [tribune]

Boo hoo. And our media are buying this?

I mean has Miss Barker, what about Obama’s later registration as a Muslim in the public school? Why pick only on one enrolment? What happened to all the staff of the Catholic school, and friends who attended with him, distinctly recalling Obama being a Muslim? Error?

The only thing Barker say in response to all these questions, is “Lolo ate bacon”. One word, from an upset American- Daft Miss Baker, Daft.

I wonder how Barker “knows” that the details of Obama’s Catholic school registration are “errors?” Isn’t she familiar what happens when people are told to check either a “yes” or “no” when what they really want to say “maybe”?

Anyone from a multicultural background is aware how difficult answering the question “where are you from” can be on a inflexible administrative form. Why would Obama saying he was Indonesians, be an error?

What was he supposed to do, explain that he was born of an American mother and a Kenyan father and now had an Indonesian step-dad? That his real name wasn’t Soetero , because his mother had yet to formally divorce, or in fact couldn’t divorce because she never got married? Who is to say further, without any research to back them up, that Obama’s nationality was not Indonesian?

Yes, he wrote he was Indonesian, because that may be exactly what he was! There are many countries who give nationality according to fathers, not mothers. If

He [Obama] was registered as a Muslim because his father, Lolo Soetoro, was Muslim.

how do we know he wasn’t registered as an “Indonesian” because his father was one? What difference would it have made for his parents? Maybe there was something to be gianed, or maybe, just maybe, it was immaterial.

Putting Muslim sure wasn’t. To suggest it was an error, is mental slimery. It was accurate all right, the kid had to study the Koran instead of the Bible, which is precisely what his Muslim birth not to mention his Muslim step-dad in a Muslim  country would have entitled him to!

Whether or not his mother wasn’t in on it, is absolutely irrelevant to a faith which is passed paternally, and which vests fathers’ with all the responsibility for teaching this faith! How ignorant does one have to be to become a journalist in a prominent paper now a days?

The omission of Ann Dunham may not have been an error. Especially if the parents are trying to shoehorn him into the school with the least resistance, and being an American means higher costs. We don’t even know how common the practice of listing the mother is in an Indonesia back in 1967. Does Barker have the details on that? Who does, the denial campaign?

Barker notes that Obama listed an old school which was inaccurate? Well, if he is trying to pass for an Indonesian, why would he complicate his story with descriptions of preschool in Hawaii. Not only that, I don’t believe a word Barker says. Why would his Catholic registration for first grade, ask him about a previous school?! I mean what grade are we talking here (there is a lot of conflicting info on this, sorry)

Not only is Barker factually wrong, ignores all incontrovertible evidence, I find her approach flat out dubious and manipulative. She tries to evade the “Muslim” question by seizing on ones Catholic school registration where several errors are touted as proof that the entire document is erroneus, while in reality having any proof to indicate that we are in fact dealing with errors.

The Tribune article tries to mislead in other ways, like

Obama’s younger sister, Maya Soetoro, said in a statement released by the campaign that the family attended the mosque only “for big communal events,” not every Friday. [Tribune]

But fails miserably, because when the LA Times says that

…childhood friends say Obama sometimes went to Friday prayers at the local mosque. [Times]

It doesn’t contradict Maya’s statement one bit! The word “not every” is synonymous with “sometimes”, while the “attended mosques only” is almost tantamount to “every”. As in they sometimes attended the mosque, but always went for religious holidays. Oh, and yes, “communal events” is code for “Muslim holidays”. Another one they are trying to get by us.

Both the Tribune and Times are proof of active Islamic Observance! Were the Obama family Christian or atheist, they not only would forget about mosques, they would not observe any Islamic holidays for the minimum of four years they staid in Indonesia. Were they not Muslim, they would not celebrate Muslim holidays like the beginning and end of Ramadan!

Doubtless, Obama was Muslim. His formative childhood years, were spent in the religion. Countless Obama friends witness to it, how he was led by the man he admired (I quoted this on last post) his step-father to the mosque:

Neighborhood Muslims worshiped in a nearby house, which has since been replaced by a larger mosque. Sometimes, when the muezzin sounded the call to prayer, Lolo and Barry would walk to the makeshift mosque together,

Not just regularly, but in response to the muezzin’s prayer. How many non-Muslims do that? You hear Allahu Akbar, and you come running to join your friend Ahmed. Or is it Zulfin?

“Barry was Muslim. He went to the mosque. I remember him wearing a sarong. We prayed but not really seriously, just following actions done by older people in the mosque,” Zulfin Adi said. “But as kids, we loved to meet our friends and went to the mosque together and played,” [Times]

Didn’t you know that all non-Muslim kids when they want to meet friends and play with them, just go to the neighborhood mosque? It’s the YMMA, right?

Whether or not Obama prayed seriously, is irrelevant. We are talking kids here. How many Jewish or Christian kids go praying seriously at 7 years of age? Seriously for what, toys?

The Tribune article attacks Adi by claiming he knew Obama only briefly, as if this somehow dimishes the value of what he says.

Think people, think. If Adi knew Obama only briefly, this is further proof that even someone who just ran into Obama, caught on to his practicing of Islam!

In short, all the evidence in the LA Times, and the words of Obama’s sister, plus Obama’s own rapport with Islam and his relatives, (not to mention his mother’s dismissive attitude towards Christianity, because we don’t know the degree) points to Obama having spent at least four years in Indonesia as a practicing Muslim. Both in his personal life, and school life.

The notion that his years in a Catholic school were somehow spent as Christian, is contradicted by nearly everyone who has worked in the school and spoke to LA Times journalists:

Two of his teachers, former Vice Principal Tine Hahiyari and third-grade teacher Effendi, said they remember clearly that at this school too [the Catholic school], he was registered as a Muslim, which determined what class he attended during weekly religion lessons.

Error on enrollment form? Yet his teachers and vice principal keenly aware of this error, and presumably, when Obama skipped Bible classes for Koran lessons, he complained and asked his father to re-enroll him as a Christian, and they ignored him?

Muslim students were taught by a Muslim teacher, and Christian students were taught by a Christian teacher.

That’s right, even in Catholic private school Obama was being tought by a Muslim teacher, because he was delcared Muslim, because he was born Muslim, his father was Muslim, and his sister says it, his friends and teachers at the time say it, he admits it in his book without really understanding what this implies about his religion… the writing is on the wall.

As with everythign about Obama, we’ve been had.Again, we’ve been had. Even if Obama tells us he celebrated far more than just Islamic holiday’s in Indonesia… that he had a Christian neighbor with whom his mother celebrated Christmas… or that they he participated in shammanism… doesn’t contravene the facts of him being a Muslim, declaring himself a Muslim, and answering not the Christian prayer, but the Islamic one.

Now I just want to know, why did he lie about this? Why?  Is Islam really that bad? Are Americans really that sensitive? Is the middle name Hussein really so insulting?

Or does Obama, as Jeff and Jamal argue forcefully, need to make and maintain such lies so he can treat any attempt to disprove them as instaces of intolerance and mud slinging, thus play the hero and the victim, when appealing to his constituency?

Someone please explain this.

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