THE RULES HAVE CHANGED A NEW POSITIVE DISPOSITION TOWARDS OBAMA'S ISLAMIC ORIGINS - HIS RAMADAN MESSAGE....

The rules have changed: Thomas Lifton notes a new, positive disposition towards Obama's Islamic origins.

Half-brother says "on the inside Barack Obama is a Muslim": On a business trip to Turkey, George Hussein Onyango Obama (who has only met Barack twice, once as a child in the 1980s, once two years ago), 26, told an interviewer that "He may be behaving differently due to the position he is in, but on the inside Barack Obama is Muslim." (March 18, 2009)

One in nine Americans think Obama is a Muslim: "Do you happen to know what Barack Obama's religion is?" Asked that casual sounding question in March 2008, June 2008, September 2008, and October 2008, a steady 12 percent of respondents reached by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press replied that he's Muslim. Asked the same question in March 2009, 11 percent replied he is Muslim.

HIS RAMADAN MESSAGE

Ramadan message: Presidential holiday messages tend to be platitudinous, but not Barack Obama's first Ramadan message, which included several elements of note:

"Ramadan is the month in which Muslims believe the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad": I.e., I am no Muslim.

"Like many people of different faiths who have known Ramadan through our communities and families, I know this to be a festive time - a time when families gather, friends host iftars, and meals are shared. But I also know that Ramadan is a time of intense devotion and reflection - a time when Muslims fast during the day and perform tarawih prayers at night, reciting and listening to the entire Koran over the course of the month": I may not be a Muslim, but I sure know Islam up close. Note in particular the reference to performing "tarawih prayers at night," an allusion to the supplemental prayers Sunnis engage in during Ramadan. This, clearly, is no amateur speaking.

"fasting is a concept shared by many faiths - including my own Christian faith": Again, I am a Christian, don't forget it.

"we are isolating violent extremists while empowering the people in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan": Ah, those "violent extremists," troublemakers of no specific identity. Never ever connect them to Islam.

"we are unyielding in our support for a two-state solution that recognizes the rights of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security": Unyielding is a strange term in this context, confirms Obama's zealous views on the topic.

"at this time of renewal, I want to reiterate my commitment to a new beginning between America and Muslims around the world": I am the anti-George W. Bush. You will love me.

"We are … moving forward in partnering with the OIC and OIC member states to eradicate polio": One wonders if Obama realizes the minefield he walked into here.

"I want to join with the 1.5 billion Muslims around the world - and your families and friends - in welcoming the beginning of Ramadan": Just as Obama earlier cited the exaggerated figure of nearly seven million U.S. Muslims, so he now uses this too-large number, both times pandering to Muslims.

Comment: In all, it's precisely the Ramadan message one would expect from this politician. (August 21, 2009)
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