Obama has himself to blame for Muslim problem

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

Obama has himself to blame for Muslim problem
By: BYRON YORK
Chief Political Correspondent
August 20, 2010

In 1985, Barack Obama had just arrived in Chicago for his new job as a community organizer when he headed to Smitty’s Barbershop, a tiny storefront on the South Side. As Smitty cut his hair, Obama listened to the men in the shop talk politics and racial grievance. When the barber finished, he handed Obama a mirror and said, “Haircut’s ten dollars. What’s your name, anyway?”

“Barack.”

“Barack, huh,” Smitty responded. “You a Muslim?”

“Grandfather was,” Obama said, according to his memoir Dreams From My Father.

Smitty’s question, which Obama didn’t exactly answer, prefigured a controversy that continues to this day.

A new poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that 18 percent of Americans believe Obama is a Muslim. That is up from the 12 percent who believed that in October 2008, just before Obama was elected president.

At the same time, the number of Pew respondents who say Obama is a Christian — in Dreams From My Father, he describes his conversion to Christianity under the tutelage of Rev. Jeremiah Wright — has declined from 51 percent in October 2008 to 34 percent now. And the number of people who say they don’t know Obama’s religion is growing, from 32 percent back then to 43 percent today.

The White House blames the situation on a “misinformation campaign” from Obama’s opponents. But Obama and his aides might also blame themselves for the way they’ve handled the Muslim issue over the years.

The question did not come out of nowhere. As Obama said, his grandfather was a Muslim. His father was raised a Muslim before becoming, by Obama’s account, “a confirmed atheist.” Obama’s stepfather was a Muslim. His half-sister Maya told the New York Times that her “whole family was Muslim.”

[Pepper]

Geee

 

Question:

 

Take a narcissist and foolish tool raised by a muslim father and a radical mother and then by an atheist stepfather, then married to a resentful spouse and immersed in 20 years of black liberation theology with radicals for life long friends... is that or is that not someone you want to associate with?

[Argyle58]

Geee

 

Question:

 

Take a narcissist and foolish tool raised by a muslim father and a radical mother and then by an atheist stepfather, then married to a resentful spouse and immersed in 20 years of black liberation theology with radicals for life long friends... is that or is that not someone you want to associate with?

 

You forgot to add spending the most intellectually formative years (6-10) being schooled in a Madrasa.

[pollyannaish]

This is a well-reasoned article.

 

I am very curious to understand how Obama became a Christian. He's attributed that to Reverend Wright.

 

What I do believe we can say with utmost certainty, is while he does seem to have empathy and direct ties to Islam we don't know for sure how that manifests itself. He does, however, seem to have embraced extremist Christian views for 20 plus years. Either way, his world view seems to be out of the mainstream.

 

There is a certain irony there.

 

That said, I'm perfectly happy to simply go after him on fiscal irresponsibility. I feel very strongly that is a big enough target in and of itself with far fewer land mines.

[Chickadee]

I agree with polly that rather than further the separation of cultures within our nation by emphasizing the differences, we should seek to support those leaders who want to strengthen the nation's core--especially in the area of financial stability.

 

Seeking to move away from big government and all its trappings to me is a higher priority than Obama's religion or even where a certain mosque will be built.

 

Even though Obama's supposed Muslim leanings at times may affect foreign policy, working toward our economic strength is of the utmost importance IMO.

[Argyle58]

I frankly don't care, either, what his religion is, any more than I cared about Mitt Romney's. However, knowing that he was, to whatever extent, devout to one or the other would give the rest of us a clearer picture as to the orientation of his moral compass. It is his obfuscation and lack of openess on the subject that keeps this a topic of discussion.

 

As with the question of the place and circumstances of his birth, it is within his ability to put all questions to rest. It is his apparent reluctance to clarify these matters that causes all of the controversy.

[pollyannaish]

I agree with both of you on this Argyle58 and Chickadee

 

Obama's biggest problem (and this seems to seep through to everything he does) is his constant prevarication. All through the campaign, and even now, he can not seem to make a simple declarative sentence that begins with "I Believe........" and then STICK to it when it gets a little bumpy in the push back response. Instead he blames others for misunderstanding what he said, or not making progress. Meanwhile...we're all left not being able to trust what he says because it's never consistent.

 

Nothing, NOTHING makes me respect a person less than one who will not stick to their core beliefs is challenged. Disagree with me, hate what I stand for, whatever...just do not leave me wondering what you believe in. STAND FOR SOMETHING.

[pollyannaish]

Oh..and I would like to add, that I still believe that the "Almost" Ground-Zero Mosque must not be built there.

 

The story of their refusal to look at other locations, reminds of me of the Biblical King Solomon story of the two women who each claimed the living baby was hers. King Solomon solved it by offering to cut the baby in half and give each of them half. One woman said "fine" while the other said "no let her have it." That of course, was the woman who received custody.

 

This is the same kind of dynamic. If the Cordoba house had, when asked, agreed to step back a few blocks, then I would believe that they really were trying to promote interfaith understanding. But because they seem to be intent on whipping up controversy, and making a show out of it being IN THAT LOCATION, I doubt their motives.

 

For me, that is as good a clue as any that they absolutely not build there.

[Sanguine]

A couple of thoughts:

 

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I ran across something last night. I've not seen this anywhere else. I did as much as I could to verify this. Ryan Lizza in the New Republic, a year ago, long story at the New Republic on their website. If you print it out, it's nine pages long. Reverend Jeremiah Wright, ladies and gentlemen, used to be a Muslim, according to the New Republic a year ago. It is interesting how this hasn't come up in the past year, yet it's in the New Republic a year ago, nine-page story, he was a former Muslim. This would explain why Obama is so frightened of the use of his middle name, and it might explain Jeremiah Wright's cozying up to Calypso Louie Farrakhan and traveling overseas to meet Moammar Khadafy in Libya.

 

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_040908/content/01125106.guest.html

 

Taqiyya

 

Within the Islamic theological framework, the concept of taqiyya (تقیه) (pronounced as tagiyeh by speakers of Iranian Persian; alternate spelling taqiya) is derived from the Arabic triliteral root waw-qaf-ya, denoting "piety, devotion, uprightness, and godliness",[1] and refers to the practice of precautionary dissimulation whereby believers may conceal their faith when under threat, persecution or compulsion.[2]...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taqiyah

 

Who knows? Certainly not me.

[pollyannaish]

A couple of thoughts:

 

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I ran across something last night. I've not seen this anywhere else. I did as much as I could to verify this. Ryan Lizza in the New Republic, a year ago, long story at the New Republic on their website. If you print it out, it's nine pages long. Reverend Jeremiah Wright, ladies and gentlemen, used to be a Muslim, according to the New Republic a year ago. It is interesting how this hasn't come up in the past year, yet it's in the New Republic a year ago, nine-page story, he was a former Muslim. This would explain why Obama is so frightened of the use of his middle name, and it might explain Jeremiah Wright's cozying up to Calypso Louie Farrakhan and traveling overseas to meet Moammar Khadafy in Libya.

 

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_040908/content/01125106.guest.html

 

Taqiyya

 

Within the Islamic theological framework, the concept of taqiyya (تقیه) (pronounced as tagiyeh by speakers of Iranian Persian; alternate spelling taqiya) is derived from the Arabic triliteral root waw-qaf-ya, denoting "piety, devotion, uprightness, and godliness",[1] and refers to the practice of precautionary dissimulation whereby believers may conceal their faith when under threat, persecution or compulsion.[2]...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taqiyah

 

Who knows? Certainly not me.

 

 

Wow. Wright's history is really interesting.

 

I am SO hesitant to sign on to any kind of conspiracy theories simply because it's too hard to keep things secret. So my question is, what has been hidden in plain sight that we just don't hear about because the Press discards it before they do their job?

[Valin]

Geee

 

Question:

 

Take a narcissist and foolish tool raised by a muslim father and a radical mother and then by an atheist stepfather, then married to a resentful spouse and immersed in 20 years of black liberation theology with radicals for life long friends... is that or is that not someone you want to associate with?

 

 

Oh I would!

 

 

 

But then I have been accused of being dumber than a post

[pollyannaish]

 

Oh I would!

 

 

 

But then I have been accused of being dumber than a post

 

 

Hey, wait a second...

 

[Valin]

A couple of thoughts:

 

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I ran across something last night. I've not seen this anywhere else. I did as much as I could to verify this. Ryan Lizza in the New Republic, a year ago, long story at the New Republic on their website. If you print it out, it's nine pages long. Reverend Jeremiah Wright, ladies and gentlemen, used to be a Muslim, according to the New Republic a year ago. It is interesting how this hasn't come up in the past year, yet it's in the New Republic a year ago, nine-page story, he was a former Muslim. This would explain why Obama is so frightened of the use of his middle name, and it might explain Jeremiah Wright's cozying up to Calypso Louie Farrakhan and traveling overseas to meet Moammar Khadafy in Libya.

 

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_040908/content/01125106.guest.html

 

Taqiyya

 

Within the Islamic theological framework, the concept of taqiyya (تقیه) (pronounced as tagiyeh by speakers of Iranian Persian; alternate spelling taqiya) is derived from the Arabic triliteral root waw-qaf-ya, denoting "piety, devotion, uprightness, and godliness",[1] and refers to the practice of precautionary dissimulation whereby believers may conceal their faith when under threat, persecution or compulsion.[2]...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taqiyah

 

Who knows? Certainly not me.

 

 

Wow. Wright's history is really interesting.

 

I am SO hesitant to sign on to any kind of conspiracy theories simply because it's too hard to keep things secret. So my question is, what has been hidden in plain sight that we just don't hear about because the Press discards it before they do their job?

 

from LookLex Encyolpaedia (I've found this to be a very good source)

Taqiyya

Arabic: 'at-taqiyya

Other spelling: taqiyah

 

In the Middle East, but especially Islam, the concealment of belief, as a method of self-protection. Taqiyya is allowed, and performed, when necessary to avoid death or injury to oneself or other Muslims. Taqiyya is mainly considered as a part of Shi'i theology or modern-day Islamism.

Taqiyya may be translated with 'fear' and 'caution'. It is closely related to the term katm or kitman, 'concealment'. Taqiyya is in many cases linked with regulations of how Muslims should act with non-Muslims.

The rules concerning the true intention of taqiyya are strict, and abusers of taqiyya will be punished by God.

 

(Snip)

 

Rules as to when taqiyya is permitted and not, has been set down. A Muslim facing corporal punishment or imprisonment may not perform taqiyya to avoid this. A male with family responsibilities may perform taqiyya if his wife(s) and children are in danger.

In recent years, taqiyya has often been used by militant Islamists, who usually are Sunnis. In preparation for terrorist attacks, using taqiyya has been part of covering their tracks. The world saw a very illustrative example of taqiyya with the 911 (September 11, 2005) attack on USA, when the local al-Qaida leaders went to bars and drank alcohol shortly before initiating their suicide attacks.

 

(Snip)

 

 

 

pollyannaish

Are you talking about Lawrence Wright? Regardless please allow me to HIGHLY recommend his The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. As someone who obsesses on this i say it is hands down the best, most readable book on Al Qaeda.

 

 

 

And

 

[pollyannaish]

Thanks Valin. I always appreciate your recommendations!