For a Muslim dude, Barack Obama sure has a lot of "pastors"
What must really be frustrating for Barack Obama, the leading candidate for president of the United States, is that his critics can’t decide if they hate him because he is a Muslim or because he is too Christian.
A few weeks ago, Obama, whose middle name is Hussein and who grew up in Indonesia and attended a school there (that GOP Jihadists like bigot Michelle Malkin describe as “Madrassas”), was forced to distance himself from the Christian Pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who reigned over his hometown church, Trinity United, and who said some things that made sense, but in a very caustic way.
This week, Malkin and other hate-mongers are hammering Obama because another priest, Rev. Michael Pfleger, holding the hand of media hog the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, went to Trinity United when no one bothered to waste their time at Pfleger’s church pulpit at St. Sabina’s Catholic Church, got up at the pulpit and said some stupid things, too.
Wow. We’re asking a man who isn’t even president yet, to apologize for the stupid comments of other people he has no control over, and yet we don’t bother to ask that a stupid man who is NOW president, lied through his teeth and is engaged in international war crimes apologize for being brainless.
Yet despite all this talk that Obama has so many Christian Pastors that the hatemongers among the vast array of GOP Jihadists in America can’t seem to get enough of, many Americans STILL think Obama is a Muslim.
Next thing you know, someone is gonna say that Obama is really a Jew forced to convert falsely (as Jews were forced to do by Christian leaders during the Inquisition) to Christianity or Islam, or whatever.
Of course, allt his might be too serious for Americans, who are consumed with the more recent controversy that Dunkin Donuts hired popular TV food hostess Rachael Ray to promote their ice tea. She wore a scarf that Malkin and other GOP Jihadists insisted symbolized Palestinian terrorism.
Close, Michelle. You loser! The scarf WAS black and white checkered but it was decorated with paisley flowers. Any idiots know that Yasser Arafat might have been caught doing a lot of things, but he wouldn’t be caught dead wearing paisley flowers!
Dunkin Donuts, which happens to be owned by many Americans of Pakistani and Indian heritage — a sure sign for the GOP Jihadists that the donut chain is a hangout for terrorists. Although, Malkin’s reasoning must be based on the fact that a lot of police officers hang out at Dunkin Donuts. Why else would they be there unless they suspected terrorists activities?
Ray Hanania
www.hanania.com
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rofl, love your writing Ray.
If you’re interested in the issue of Obama, Islam and whether he might be a Muslim apostate, you might want to check out “Muslim scholar responds to ‘Sharia smear’ against Obama” — http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2008/05/30/muslim-scholar-responds-to-sharia-smear-against-obama/ — on the Reuters FaithWorld blog.
Ray,
A bit more connection than that. Obama has funded Pflegers programs with over 200,000 tax payer dollars from ths State of Il and federally. Maybe they were good programs but regardless they have a close relationship and he was on Obamas website in an official capacity until recently.
How many more loons will appear in his posse?
So, if John McCain, or any politician, went to a racist white church for 20 years (saying Black folks invented chicken pox etc. but of course he never heard a sermon or a funny word one) and his pastor(s) that had baptized his kids, married him and his wife and he’d dedicated a book to his racist Pastor you’re telling me that wouldn’t be news?
Reporting that is hate speech? Why, because you don’t like it. If it’s a lie, he didn’t attend that church, he didn’t know these guys, then put it out there. Report the truth but don’t call it hate speech to shut people up. You sound like Dean…anything anyone says about Obama is racist because, well, you know, he’s black.
This site is supposed to be about airing news and truth but you want to show our friends elswhere how free speech is destroyed in the US…call it ‘hate speech’….it’s ‘racially motivated’….oh yea, the secret Nazi approach.
Obama is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian that attended a Black Liberation Theology church for 20 years that is divisive and unapologetically racist in it’s views. His Pastor and great friend is an admirer of Louis Farrakhan, traveled to Libya with him, another very tolerant individual.
At best Obama is simply a politician sucking up to his const. in that area and is not savvy enough or strong enough to cut the ties. The worst case scenario is he buys into the ‘attitude’ of his Pastors. Either way, he’s as wrong as a soup sandwich.
I am American, but as I live overseas and have every intention of continuing to do so, I will not be voting in the US Presidential elections. I have, however, been following the circus that is the Democratic primaries with a combination of interest and horror.
I, like many Americans, also have a problem with the connections with the various extreme pastors. At least in the case of the Reverend Wright, the relationship was not an incidental “he happens to be the pastor of the church I go to” one. It really does appear that Barak Obama had a close relationship with the man, and used him as his spirtual advisor. It is possible that a person would choose as his/her spiritual advisor–and someone also possibly providing spiritual guidance to his/her young children– someone s/he does not admire, someone whose values s/he does not wish to emulate and does not find reasonable or admirable. But that seems unlikely. This begs the question: what does Barak Obama believe? How does he view other races? The man is not applying for job as a computer programmer. He is applying for the job of leader of the United States. In such a case, I believe this to be a reasonable question.
At the same time, the speed with which Barak Obama disassociated himself from the man was also disturbing. One minute, he is your mentor etc…and the next you really had no idea what he was saying? I would trust him more if he were to get up and say “Yes, I heard what he said and I agree because of XYZ”. That would be a credible response. I might not agree with the man, but at least I would understand that the candidate is honorable and willing to stand up for what he believes. Or who knows, maybe I would agree with him.
Alas–he talks a nice line, but when push comes to shove, he is more of the same.
In respect to George Bush and whether or not we should ask him to apologize …who is the “we”? There is no unified “we” in the United States. Plenty of people have requested that he apologize. Others have not. Plenty of people take issue with Obamas’ relationship with Wright and plenty of others do not.
My own take…just because we elected one unsuitable candidate…we have to follow it up by electing another one from the other side?
Re: Dunkin Donuts etc…I also read that the scarf was paisely–talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. In respect to the general response to the kefiyyeh (let us assume that people made a genuine mistake) I am not sure who is responsible for this, but from what I can see, the keffeiyeh has been actively adopted as a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians. Whether it has also been adopted as a symbol of Jihad, I am less sure about…. The whole Israel-Palestinean conflict is a rather hot topic. Taking a stand has its place…but probably not in a Dunkin Donuts commercial. (I mean, you can, but then you do risk alienating potential customers who do not share your views. )
Ask yourself this. Suppose you come to Washington DC. And suppose you decide to head over to see the Israeli Embassy. And suppose you see a group of people across the street from the embassy. They have no signs and are shouting no slogans. But they are all draped in kefiyyahs. What would automatically assume their message to be?
Clothing can be very political.
Wow Gila, you know what racism is? So wearing something that resembles what Palestinians wear everyday is what now? Racism at its best, good luck with that.
Palestinian from Israel waiting to get in the embassy because they have some business their? Or protesting in a peaceful manner that suits a civilized person (I been to one of these)?
If your an uneducated redneck.
“Clothing can be very political. If your an uneducated redneck.”
True. And a LOT of people, in the US, in the EU, in the ME ARE uneducated rednecks. Don’t blame them, blame the ones that educated them.
I myself am one. In my home town in Denmark, there are women wearing the hijab. It offends me: I believe in equality of man and woman. And these women don’t.
Clothing can be very political. Esra’a you there ? Are you gonna call me an islamophobe again ?
Wearing a certain clothing doesn’t make you lose your equality. Majority wear hijab for culture/religious reasons, of course many are also forced to wear them so by you forcing everyone to not wear, you are violating their rights as human being. At the same time, I find it funny coming from a Westerner who treat a woman as a sex object instead of a human being. If you want proof, turn on your TV, look up a magazine or just browse the internet.
If you will forgive a pun, I do not believe the matter is as black and white as “opposition to OR support for the Keffiya =racism”. Redneck or no, clothing–or at least this particular item of clothing–is used as a political statement. Two examples:
An editorial by a Kuwaiti national studying in Canada
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/433754
Someone wears the scarf for purely fashion reasons…and gets slammed by both sides.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/30/1211654279497.html
If this means that everyone is a stupid redneck–well then, everyone is a stupid redneck. Perhaps that is why simple slogans and visual images are so popular. They speak to the common denominator.
I find it interesting in the comments above:
It is okay to attack “symbols” of alleged terrorism — Rachael Ray’s wearing of a scarf suddenly becomes a justified target. It’s really stupid.
And, those who criticize Obama ignore the racist bigots in the Christian church that surround John McCain, for example — he’s small potatos, though. There are many other more important rightwing NeoCon fanatics in American politics who embrace bigtry and hatred in the Christian Religion, not just against Islam but against Judaism.
You can read my comments on Rachael Ray and the hate-mongering of Michelle Malkin (and others like here) in my column at the HuffingtonPost.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ray-hanania/#blogger_bio
Ray Hanania
http://www.hanania.com
By the way Jina, you are the best on this site besides Esra’a … this site ROCKS!
Ray Hanania
http://www.hanania.com
Whether or not the average Palestinian would agree with such usage, for a number of years now, the kefiyyeh has been actively developed as a symbol of a specific struggle. (See the link I posted above–to the Kuwaiti writer). But now that the public at large has learned to associate it the Israeli-Palestinian dispute…suddenly such associations are stupid and unreasonable? Perhaps…as stupid and unreasonable as it is to take a commonly work article of clothing–worn by millions without any political message intended–and decide to turn it into a bearer of political messages in the first place.
To cite a less sensitive example–when I was growing up, I had rainbow clothes, a rainbow purse etc. Nothing wrong with it–rainbows were pretty and girlish and I adored bright colors. I do not think my mother would be so quick to sew me a rainbow purse if I were growing up today. For those who automatically jump to “aahh, your mother is homophobic…why on earth would you associate rainbows with sexuality?
Because you have been trained to (for lack of a better word) by groups that have adopted the rainbow as their symbol.
Clothing can be political!
Those who criticise Obama ignore the rascist bigots surrounding McCain, and those who criticise McCain ignore the rascist bigots surrounding Obama. Partisan politics, at its best. Both sides are equally guilty and equally, willfully blind. One does not justify or excuse the other. On the bright side, between each of the sides denouncing and outing the other, we can be sure of colorful (if at times exagerrated and sometimes downright slanderous) coverage of both sides of the street.
As for Christians who hate Jews and Muslims…you can find Muslims who hate Jews and Christians and Jews who hate Muslims and Christians. Crazed, hate-filled people are everywhere. Their supporters are everywhere. These are not necessarily traits or affiliations one wishes to find in a presidential candidate. If (emphasis on the “if”), Obama does share Wright’s worldview, McCain’s associations do not serve to mitigate that. All one can do is look at the two sides and try to figure out which worldview is slightly less offensive. Alternatively, you can write in Dave Barry.
Ray,
By your own standards Huffingtonpost is a ‘hate filled website’ and I guess that makes you just one of many.
hmm who would’ve known tht barack obama has this site?
http://isbarackobamamuslim.com/
Ray
I meant 
What is the diffrent!!!
Leave the man alone, Don’t blow his cover and spoil the surprise for America
“We’re asking a man who isn’t even president yet, to apologize for the stupid comments of other people he has no control over, and yet we don’t bother to ask that a stupid man who is NOW president, lied through his teeth and is engaged in international war crimes apologize for being brainless.”
Thats because the compliant corporate owned media likes Bush, he’s a perfect front man for the rich elite….. Obama is the exact opposite….
They know it, the rightwing knows it, everyone who doesn’t know it will know it soon enough!
Your right though…. how can a man that is so vilified as a muslim have such problems with Christian pastors…. that is an interesting conundrum for the rightwing sleeze machine!
Come see me at MMfA.org as well…..