Obama's Half Brother Did NOT Say Obama Was Raised As A Muslim

Jake Tapper of Political Punch puts it plainly:

It was a sloppy paraphrase that emerged as false evidence.

Malik Obama, the older half brother of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, gave a brief interview to Israeli Army Radio.

The Jerusalem Post listened to the interview, apparently, and produced a story saying "Malik Obama says his brother will be good president for the Jews. Barack Obama's half brother Malik said Thursday that if elected his brother will be a good president for the Jewish people, despite his Muslim background."

Nowhere is Malik quoted.

The Jerusalem Post has since taken the story down of its website, but you can see a cached version HERE.

Conservatives jumped on the Jerusalem Post's paraphrase that Malik said Obama "will be a good president for the Jewish people, despite his Muslim background" as some sort of evidence that Malik was saying Obama was raised a Muslim, which the campaign says he was not.

In order to figure out just what it was that Malik said, ABC News went to the tape:

ABC News got a hold of the audio of Malik's interview with Israel Army Radio, and Malik said nothing of the kind.

You can't hear the questions -- only Malik's answers (listen HERE) -- but whatever the interviewer asked about Obama's father's Muslim heritage, or the Muslim minority in Kenya, Malik said, “I don’t think that’s in any way going to be something to worry about. I myself am not speaking for him. But we are here, we love people in general. People love us. I myself love people who love me. You know, so, and I think it’s mutual. I can’t go in terms of Israel and Kenya and America, and so forth, you know, but based on what else I’ve heard him say and what I know of him as an individual, I don’t think Israel should worry too much, you know, about the connection. Because, I am a Muslim myself, and I don’t think that my being a Muslim has got anything to do with my brother being the President of the United States.”

It may be that the Israeli Army Radio interviewer asked about Obama having a "Muslim background." But even if the interviewer did, Malik did not say that or come close to saying that.

It could be that the interviewer used the phrase, and Malik interpreted that in a way that squares with the Obama campaign's story -- that Obama's father was a largely secular man born Muslim. We don't know.

But nowhere in there does Malik expressly say anything about Obama having a Muslim background.

And nowhere does he "confirm" anything about Obama having a Muslim background.

Malik refers to Obama having a "connection" to something, perhaps Islam, which could clearly be a reference to Obama's father.

This interpretation spreading throughout the blogosphere and cable news is just not supported by the facts. The paraphrase was sloppy, for such a sensitive subject, and Malik's quotes don't even come close to supporting any assertion that Obama himself has a Muslim background.

Fair enough. By the same token, there is no indication that this was anything other than an honest--if careless--mistake on the part of The Jerusalem Post.

[Hat tip: HotAir Headlines]

Technorati Tag: Barack Obama and Malik Obama.