Can an American President Be a Muslim Apostate?

From the New Media Journal
Politics Frank Salvato, Managing EditorJanuary 11, 2008

As the primary season finally gets started the issue of Barack Obama's religion takes the stage once again. While there are some aspects of his religious affiliations that cause legitimate concern, the contention that he is a danger because he practiced Islam as a child, under the guidance of his father and then his step-father, is being overblown for what it is not and ignored for what it is.

The notion that Barack Obama is a closeted Islamist is akin to a black helicopter theory. He has established that he is a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ. While there are many questions surrounding the bigotry of this congregation's controversial pastor and the afro-centricity of the church's tenets, the fact remains the church is not a mosque and the pastor is not an Imam or cleric.

But, as Islamic scholar Daniel Pipes points out in his recent article, Confirmed: Barack Obama Practiced Islam, Barack Obama did in fact practice Islam as a child. True, most of us, as children, are guided by our parents in the ways of religion, taking up the faiths of our mothers and fathers, but a choice later in life to deviate from their religious beliefs does not nullify the fact that we once attended the churches, synagogues, mosques, etc. sanctioned by our parents. To this extent, Barack Obama did practice Islam and was subjected to the fundamental tenets of the ideology.

This fundamental truth is important for at least a few different reasons. Fundamentalist Islamists, radical Islamists, Wahhabists, believe, among other things, that :

â–ª When one is born of Muslim parents they are Muslim

â–ª Everyone who does not embrace Islam is a non-believer and thus, is an enemy to Allah, his Prophet and believers

â–ª Should one leave the faith of Islam they are considered an apostate, a denier of the Koran, and should be killed

When you acknowledge the fact that Barack Obama was brought to mosque to practice Islam as a child and that he was born of a father that was Muslim, in the eyes of Wahhabists and Islamist fundamentalists he is considered an apostate. Under fundamentalist Islamic dogma – Wahhabi dogma – he is considered an enemy of Allah, his Prophet and believers. In the world of radical Islamists, Barack Obama is the worst kind of infidel – a traitor – and should be killed.

This is pretty bad news for Barack Obama. Not only does he have Hillary Clinton "gunning" for him – which can be dangerous in and of itself – he has the entire radical Islamist world looking to kill him – by fatwa, by religious edict, not because of his politics, but because he is a Muslim apostate.

This brings up a very serious question with regard to a major limitation should Barack Obama make it to the White House. In this age of conflict between Western Civilization and radical Islam, when the United States must have the most potent of leaders on the world stage, can a Muslim apostate achieve credibility within the Islamic world?

Over the next several decades it is going to be paramount that the United States – and the West – have a working relationship with the Muslim world, both ideological and governmental. The President of the United States must be appreciated for his status and be accepted as credible when proposing or agreeing to treaties and accords. Should Barack Obama become President of the United States, his credibility in the Islamic world would be subject to the severity of each individual leader's fundamentalist conviction.

Saudi Arabia, the world's leading exporter of fundamentalist Sunni Islam – Wahhabism – would most assuredly view Obama as an apostate and, therefore, an infidel of the worst order. Because Saudi Arabia is considered – for reasons unknown to this writer – an ally in the global war against radical Islam, Obama's apostasy presents a problem as to whether agreements between the two nations can be considered ingenuous.

When you entertain the Wahhabist ideological tenet of taqiyya, the possibility of insincere agreements entered into by the Saudis, meant to empower a strategic advantage over the United States and the West, becomes more of a problem.

The issue of Obama's apostasy is also valid for the governments of Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and especially Iran, and the plethora of countries in Indonesia and Africa who either see their government's mired in conflict with radical Islam or adhering to the tenets of Islamic dogma.

Barack Obama's political credentials for the office of President of the United States may very well be debatable. But the fact of the matter – as dictated by fundamentalist Islamic ideology, by fatwa and by the Koran – is that Barack Obama's credibility and status within the Muslim world is already diminished. And the United States cannot afford a leader of limited potency as we battle the war against radical Islamist aggression.