Praying to Jesus
The innuendo is obvious. The name screams out with affirmations. The color of the skin begs the question. And ultimately blogs all over the internet claim that Obama is a closet Muslim! When Hillary was questioned on the accusation she replied, “He’s not a Muslim as far as I know”. Talk about a left-handed slap. In other words, he might be and she doesn’t know it.
But what does the man himself have to say about it?
Well, yesterday Barack Obama lashed out at political enemies who are spreading false rumors that he’s a closet Muslim as he proclaimed, “I pray to Jesus every night. I am a devout Christian and I pray to Jesus every night and try to go to church as much as I can.” And does anyone think that will make everyone be at ease about his religious beliefs? His conciliatory words don’t convince people.
In some of his strongest comments to date, Obama, in response to a question about his religious beliefs, said he wanted to put an end to so much confusion that has been deliberately perpetrated. Obama’s bid to end the rumor-mongering came just days after his campaign accused Hillary Rodham Clinton of launching a deliberate smear after the Drudge Report Web site reported that one of her staffers had forwarded photos of him wearing a turban on a 2006 trip to Africa.
The Ohio and Texas primaries will be somewhat of a judgment on this issue.
As a reminder, Obama’s late father, who was from Kenya, was a Christian who converted to Islam, though he was not religious. Obama himself was never a Muslim and has been a member of the same Christian church for the last 20 years. So, what’s the people in Cleveland think? On a recent visit to Cleveland, The Post newspaper conducted an informal survey of about a dozen people and found that most didn’t know Obama’s faith – and many incorrectly assumed he was a Muslim.
The good news for Obama is that no super delegate will probably switch because of such accusations.
Some Ohio Democrats even thought he had sworn the oath of office while holding the Koran – another false internet rumor. Can you pray to Jesus AND read the Koran also? Now that’s a good question for everyone isn’t it. :-)
ernie@lrchouston.com
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