Getting to Know Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.

By J. Michael Sharman, 03 March, 2008

Getting to Know Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Author: J. Michael Sharman

Back in January, an email was forwarded on to me that said a whole lot of bad things about Barack Obama, clustered around the claim that: "Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that is a Muslim."
At the end of February, another email was forwarded to me and a gazillion other people that exclaimed, "Barack Hussein Obama, a Muslim, wants to be our President? You have GOT to be kidding! Wake up <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />America!"
So, I thought I would wake up and check it out.
Having checked it out, I can't find any basis for a claim that Barack Obama is now a Muslim/Moslem/Islamic.
That does not mean, however, that we should stop looking into his religious, political, background, or the political implications of his religious affiliations.
Project VoteSmart is one of the most objective sources for candidate information, but unfortunately it does not provide in-depth biographical data. Among the short items of interest listed there are that Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961 to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. and Ann Dunham, both of whom are now deceased. He is married to Michelle, and they have two daughters, Malia and Sasha. He is a current member of Trinity United Church of Christ. His favorite book is Alex Haley's book,"The Autobiography of Malcolm X", the leader of the Nation of Islam who was assassinated, supposedly, to make way for Louis Farakhan.[1]
The Biography Directory of the United States Congress drops Obama's "Jr." designation and says he: "obtained early education in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Hawaii; continued education at Occidental College, Los Angeles, Calif.; received a B.A. in 1983 from Columbia University, New York City; worked as a community organizer in Chicago, Ill."[2]
The Encyclopedia of World Biography puts a bit more flesh on those bare-bones details. The senior Obama was Kenyan, of the Luo ethnic group. His family in Africa disapproved of his marriage to a white American, and their marriage only lasted two years. The father and son saw each other only once again when Barrack was ten years old.[3]
Ann Dunham Obama then married an Indonesian who worked in the oil industry. The family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia when Barack was six. At ten years old, Barrack moved back to live with his maternal grandparents in Honolulu, Hawaii.[4]
The Asia Times Online states that the move was prompted because Ann's new husband, Lolo Soetoro, had his student visa revoked in 1967.[5]
The Chicago Sun-Times writes that, "Soetoro worked for the Indonesian government and later a U.S. oil company before he and Obama's mother divorced in the late 1970s. Soetoro died of a liver ailment in 1987 at age 51." The Sun-Times article concludes with Obama's own description of his stepfather's faith: "Like many Indonesians, Lolo followed a brand of Islam that could make room for the remnants of more ancient animist and Hindu faiths."[6]
Obama's half sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, who now lives in Honolulu told the Associated Press, "Our mom lived in many countries, shared many world views with us and yet the Midwest and Kansas were certainly still very present."[7]
In the Midwest, Obama, says an article in the Baptist Press, has been an active member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago for more than two decades, which brings up a few other controversies.
First, the entire denomination is being investigated for a possible revocation of its 501(C)(3) status because of a political speech Obama made last year to its convention.[8]
Second, and more importantly, the congregation Obama belongs to describes itself all over its website: "Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain 'true to our native land,' the mother continent, the cradle of civilization."[9] The creed that the church espouses is "The Black Value System", the points of which are published on the Church website.[10]
Third, the in-house magazine published by the Obama's church gave Louis Farrakhan its 2007 "Trumpeter Award" because he was, Obama's pastor said, a man who "truly epitomized greatness."[11]
Obama's beliefs and background may not be Moslem, but the true facts still don't read as being terribly inclusive or American to the rest of us.

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