Why It Matters That Barack Obama May Have Practiced Islam As A Child

Here is a point raised by Daniel Pipes, and we are not talking here about peeking at something Barack Obama wrote when he was in kindergarten. He refers to an article by Kim Barker in The Chicago Tribune in March 2007 Pipes writes:

But on the larger issue of Obama's religious practices during his Jakarta years, it [Barker's article] confirms the Times account [note: link is Baltimore Sun reprint]. Note in particular three excerpts from Barker's article:

* "Interviews with dozens of former classmates, teachers, neighbors and friends show that Obama was not a regular practicing Muslim when he was in Indonesia" – implying he was an irregularly practicing Muslim.

* "Obama occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers, a few neighbors said" – confirming that he did pray in the mosque.

* "Obama's 3rd-grade teacher at the Catholic school, who lived near the family [said that] ‘Rarely, Barry went to the mosque with Lolo'" – confirming that Obama attended mosque services.

All this matters, for if Obama once was a Muslim, he is now what Islamic law calls a murtadd (apostate), an ex-Muslim converted to another religion who must be executed. Were he elected president of the United States, this status, clearly, would have large potential implications for his relationship with the Muslim world.

In sum: Obama was an irregularly practicing Muslim who rarely or occasionally prayed with his step-father in a mosque. This precisely substantiates my statement that he "for some years had a reasonably Muslim upbringing under the auspices of his Indonesian step-father."

In an earlier article, Pipes quoted Obama's website:

The candidate for president of the United States has delivered two principal statements in reply. His campaign website carries a statement dated Nov. 12 with the headline, "Barack Obama Is Not and Has Never Been a Muslim," followed by: "Obama never prayed in a mosque. He has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian."

The discrepancy about whether Obama attended a mosque or not is not the issue. The point are the implications and how Obama will address them.

Pipes discusses the implications in some detail here--including a mention of a former world leader who had converted from Islam. [see end of article]

Technorati Tag: Barack Obama.