Obama Sets Record Straight on His Religion: Presidential Candidate Battles Misconception That He's a Muslim

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22767392/

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Barack Obama is stepping up his effort to correct the misconception that he's a Muslim now that the presidential campaign has hit the Bible Belt.

At a rally to kick off a weeklong campaign for the South Carolina primary, Obama tried to set the record straight from an attack circulating widely on the Internet that is designed to play into prejudices against Muslims and fears of terrorism.

"I've been to the same church _ the same Christian church _ for almost 20 years," Obama said, stressing the word Christian and drawing cheers from the faithful in reply. "I was sworn in with my hand on the family Bible. Whenever I'm in the United States Senate, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. So if you get some silly e-mail ... send it back to whoever sent it and tell them this is all crazy. Educate."

Obama is referring to a debunked chain e-mail circulating widely on the Internet that suggests he is hiding his Islamic roots and may be a terrorist in disguise. It says he was sworn into the Senate on the Quran and turns his back on the flag during the pledge.

Some facts, some misstatementsThere are some truths in the e-mail's details. Obama's middle name is Hussein. His father and stepfather were Muslim. And he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, a largely Muslim country. But he attended secular and Catholic schools, not a radical madrassa.

His campaign has been pushing back against the false rumors all year. His aides decried an incorrect news report that Obama was educated in a Muslim madrassa and a section of his Web site is devoted to correct that and other false rumors circulating on the Internet.

But they are stepping up the effort now that the campaign has hit South Carolina and soon turns to other southern states where religion is so important to voters. The campaign distributed an open letter from seven Jewish senators this weekend condemning the attacks; aides are planning an event this week to respond directly to the e-mails; and campaign representatives blanketed South Carolina churches Sunday with literature that touted Obama's Christian faith.

One piece features photos of Obama praying with the words "COMMITTED CHRISTIAN" in large letters across the middle. It says Obama will be a president "guided by his Christian faith" and includes a quote from him saying, "I believe in the power of prayer."

A second piece, which like the first doesn't mention the Muslim rumor, includes photos of Obama with his family and a caption that says they are active members of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. It explains how as a young man Obama "felt a beckoning of the spirit and accepted Jesus Christ into his life."

Fighting against ClintonsObama says he's going to fight harder against other mischaracterizations about his positions that he says are being perpetrated by rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband, the former president.

"When I see Senator Clinton, President Clinton distort my words ... that is not a way to move the debate forward, that is not a way to help the American people," Obama said during his rally at the Columbia Convention Center. "I am not running for president just to become president, I'm running to help the American people. I'm not willing to say or do anything just to win an election."

The Clinton campaign suggested the former president would continue pointing out what it says are inconsistencies in Obama's record.

"President Clinton is a huge asset to our campaign and will continue talking to the American people to press the case for Senator Clinton," said Clinton spokesman Phil Singer.

Obama adviser Steve Hildebrand said the campaign has organized "truth squads" made up of South Carolina supporters ready to defend Obama's record from any attacks made by the Clintons this week.

In an interview broadcast Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Obama said the former president "has taken his advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling" by making statements that are not supported by the facts.

"This has become a habit, and one of the things that we're going to have to do is to directly confront Bill Clinton when he's making statements that are not factually accurate," Obama said.
The Clinton campaign responded to Obama's interview with ABC by posting a fact check on a campaign Web site in an effort to bolster Bill Clinton's arguments against Obama.

"We understand Senator Obama is frustrated by his loss in Nevada, but facts are facts," Singer said.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ANTI-MULTI-CULTURALISTS’ ASSAULT ON BROOKLYN SCHOOL AND MUSLIM LEADERS IS BAD FOR NEW YORK CITY AND THE NATION

by Imam Al-Hajj Talib ‘Abdur-Rashid

http://www.mosqueofislamicbrotherhoodinc.org/page/page/4983445.htm

Since the New York Dept.of Education announced its plan in January of this year to open a dual language (English and Arabic) college preparatory program in Brooklyn, forces opposed to its planned multicultural curriculum have been working to derail the city’s latest experiment in innovative approaches to education. The Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA) is scheduled to open this month of September, providing for 6th through 12th grade students what its designers identify as a “diverse, supportive and collaborative learning environment.”

A Neo-Conservative group called the Stop the Madrassa Coalition (STMC) (http://www.stopthemadrassa.wordpress.com/) began expoliting 1) the unawareness of most Americans insofar as the contributions of Arab culture and history to global civilization is concerned, 2) post 9-11 fears, and 3) anti-immigrant sentiments . They fanned the flames of opposition amongst parents at P.S. 282 in Park Slope, the Brooklyn neighborhood where the school was originally to open,until those parents voted against having the new program located in their school.

The Coalition’s ideologue, and the most recognizable face and name on its advisory board, is that of Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum; a right-wing, Neo-Conservative think tank. Pipes is a well-known Islamophobe, who for years has been attacking Muslim leaders in America who take firm Social Justice stances on both domestic and international issues; whether they carry the American flag or not.

His favorite targets are Muslim African American leaders, who tend to be bolder and more outspoken against injustices and American government hypocrisy, than their immigrant peers. Pipes continued this pattern of aggression against American cirtizens whom he deems dangerous, when he directed the cross-hair sights of the STMC towards this writer, and the end of August.

Background

Parental disgruntlement scuttled plans to open the KGIA at P.S.262 , but the City of New York continued to stand by its commitment to the special school. Thus , the Dept. of Education announced weeks ago that it would open at the site of MS 447 in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. The City remained adamant in its support of the KGIA, refusing to give in to pressure from the Neo-Conservatives, who wanted to close the school before it opened. The KGIA opened on scheduled and without incident..

This evidenced rejection of the Neo-Cons’ assertion that the school is an “Isla-mist" front, that will become a religious school disguised as a public one. Chancellor Joel Klein has stated publicly that if that were ever to be the case, then the school would be closed. In fact, the KGIA is to be the latest in the Dept. of Ed’s “New Visions for Public Schools” initiatives, which identify special groups of students and innovative educational ideas, and builds programs around them. Other efforts in the immediate past include numerous schools for gifted youngsters, alternative schools for the not so gifted who have trouble learning in traditional environments, an all-girls school in East Harlem, and a school for youth identified as gay, lesbian or transgendered, in Manhattan.

The success of these educational innovations seem to have eluded the Neo-Cons, who have appeared on all of the usual right-wing Neo-conservative television programs (Glen Beck, the O’Reilly Factor, etc. ) voicing their opposition to the KGIA, as their local print media equivalents (The NY Sun, NY Post, etc.) have attacked the idea of the school, and its visionary first principal, Debbie Al-Montaser. Two weeks ago Al-Montaser was forced to resign for failure to denounce a t-shirt produced by a NY-based group of Arab-American women artists , that read “Intifada NYC”.

Lost in all of this has been the fact that the battle over KGIA is really nothing more than the latest effort of right-wing Neo-Cons to fight the increasing multi-cultural direction of American education. When White Anglo-Saxon Protestants conquered the native Americans and established the American Empire, they also established as an empowered majority, “a dominant culture with its traditions, literature, facts, its special claim to know and supervise language, and its Protestant religions”. (Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind, 1987, pp. 30, 160, 162)

This Anglo-American dominance over all American institutions included the field of education. The public school system was the vehicle for academic standardization in major cities in both the North (like New York), and the South. Its curriculum was designed to create a common mind-set amongst American students, rooted in a Euro-centric, colonists’ interpretation of history, culture, and world events, along with instruction in math, the sciences, and other areas. The targets of this design were both “old and anticipated new waves of immigrants to the land” (Kly, The Anti-Social Contract, pp. 42-43).

This socialization strategy had limited effectiveness on non-immigrants like African American youth (who as the descendants of slaves were segregated in the South under American apartheid), Native American youth (who were segregated on reservations), and Mexicans (marginalized on the fringes of society), as well as Spanish-speaking immigrants. It still does today in Northern and Southern inner cities . (Davila, 2004), and the mid-West
The social upheaval of the 1960s and 70s, and the profound change which followed in its wake, began to force the American people, especially those of European descent, to reexamine the cultural heritage of the nation. During that time ethnic studies, women’s studies, and other areas of research previously excluded from curricula, were demanded by students nation-wide.
Some 20-odd years ago, Multicultural Education emerged as a bonafide extension of this late 20th century social revolution. It challenged the idea of a (White, Euro-centered) monocultural American ideal, with the acknowledgement of the nation as an amalgamation of many cultures (M. Haley, 1999). It was and is an idea, an educational reform movement, and a process (Banks, 1997).

However forces also existed then that opposed the change, insisting upon the maintenance of a monocultural status-quo. It is these same forces, rooted in a 20th century jingoism that smacks of racism (i.e. White supremacy), that are still doggedly opposing multicultural programs in the American educational system; even as the nation’s ethnic, cultural, linguistic, religious and spiritual demographic, continually changes.

One of these anti-multiculturalists is David Yerushalmi,a leader of the Stop the Madrassa Coaliton. Yerushalmi, described in The Jewish Week newspaper as a “national advisory board member, counsel, and defacto treasurer” (Chandler and Cohler-Esses, 2007) is the founder and president of an organization called The Society of Americans for National Existence (or SANE). It’s mission statement defines one of its objectives as, “…the dismantling of the liberal enterprise, including a rejection of the Open Society agenda and multiculturalism that so dominates and permeates our society”. (http://www.saneworks.us/mission.php) .

An ally of Yerushalmi is conservative writer Elan Journo, who has stated of multicultural textbooks that they reveal “…a concerted effort to portray the most backward, impoverished and murderous cultures as advanced, prosperous and life-enhancing”.

He continues, “Multiculturalism's goal is not to teach about other cultures, but to promote - by means of distortions and half-truths—the notion that non-Western cultures are as good as, if not better than, Western culture. Far from ‘broadening’ the curriculum, what multiculturalism seeks is to diminish the value of Western culture in the minds of students. But, given all the facts, the objective superiority of Western culture is apparent, so multiculturalists must artificially elevate other cultures and depreciate the West”. ( Journo, August 20,2007)

By quoting such members and supporters selectively, the Stop the Madrassa coalition tries (unsuccessfully) to obscure its obstructionist goals and Neo-Conservative identity. But it’s true colors come out in its writings and declarations. It claims to “wholeheartedly support the study of Arabic”, along with Farsi and Urdu, “…for national security purposes”. What the Coalition doesn’t say is that it is forced to take this position because the federal government is pushing what it calls “critical language” studies throughout the country, from kindergarten though college. This was announced by President Bush last January, the same month in which plans for the KGIA were unveiled.

The “critical languages” also include Chinese, Russian and Korean (all of which the Neo-Cons fail to mention in their statement), and the reason for this early 21st century enhancement of America’s foreign language study, is not just related to national security, but also the preparation of American students to compete in a global economic, technological, and scientific market; again as noted by President Bush on other occasions.

Having successfully hounded and harassed Debbie Al-Montasser - a caring, aware Arab-American immigrant, who has dedicated herself over the years to working with people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds in New York City, the Neo-Cons have now turned their attack upon an African American Muslim religious leader who sits on the Advisory board of the KGIA, namely this writer.

A week or so ago on its web-site, the Neo-Con coalition called for my resignation from the KGIA Advisory Board. The reasons cited by them reveal the true nature of their retrogressive thinking, Neo-Conservative politics, and anachronistic world view.

First, this writer was (accurately) cited as a member of the Committee to Free Imam Jamil Al-Amin (the former H. Rap Brown), whom the Neo-Cons identify solely as a “convicted cop killer”. This is mentioned about me as a negative. They fail to mention that there are many people who attended the imam’s trial (I was one of them, and I never saw Daniel Pipes or any of his Neo-Con associates there), and who don’t believe that he received a fair legal proceeding. Thus we are supporting him during his appeal process. This process is part of the system of American law and justice, which we are placing our confidence in to right what we believe to be a wrong. What’s wrong with that?

My second transgression according to the Neo-Cons, is that I have an essay available for reading on the inter-net, that asserts the Christopher Columbus didn’t discover America, that this land was inhabited by the Original or Native Americans long before anyone else came here, and that African Muslims were here before Chris. The Neo-Cons seem outraged by this view, which they denounce as “Islamist propaganda”. Certainly, my assertion must have surely outraged Journo, who in the above writing cites as an example of Multiculturalism’s “War on Education”, a textbook referring to West African Pre-Columbian civilization.

Excuse me,Neo-Cons ? I first learned of Muslim pre-Columbian presence in America, by reading of the references in the diary of Columbus himself (Jane,1988), and the writings of historians like Professors Leo Wiener , a Jewish American and author of Africa and the Discovery of America; a three volume work on the subject, published in 1920-22/ Then there is Professor Ivan Van Sertimer’s They Came Before Columbus (1976). He is an American Christian of African descent . Neither of these scholars was or is a Muslim, or an “Islamist”. Further, I confirmed this history during a meeting with Native American elders and leaders at the mosque I serve, years ago. Again, none of them were Muslims, much less “Islamists”.

Thirdly, the Neo-Cons cite the logo of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood Inc. (visible on our web site at http://www.mosqueofislamicbrotherhoodinc.org/) and the fact that it has a sword on it beneath the words in Arabic which translated mean , “There is no god worthy of worship but Allah”, and Muhammad is His Messenger” , as proof of my “radical Islamist” identity.

Excuse me again? Do they have a problem with our declaration of faith in a country in which every citizen has freedom of religious belief and expression? Perhaps what the Neo-Cons really have a problem with is our use of a sword on our logo. The sword is a religious symbol not only for Muslims, but Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Taoists, that has been used throughout history not only by Africans and Arabs, but Celts, Chinese, Greeks, Japanese and Scandanavians (Cooper, 1978).

Further, doesn’t “Lady Justice”, you know, the one depicted as a statue in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C wearing a blindfold, and holding a balance scale in one hand, have a sword in her other? So why do the Neo-Cons have a problem with Muslims using the sword as a symbol of temporal justice and mercy, and the authority of righteousness, when other people and faith groups do the same?

Perhaps the Neo-Cons are upset because we of the M.I.B. declare that “Jihad is our way”, or “death in the way of Allah is our promised end”. Yet, even a little research by them (like beliefnet.com ,or religioustolerance.org) would help these narrow-minded individuals to realize that jihad is an Arabic word for “struggle”, and that it’s dimensions are primarily non-violent (as in spiritual jihad –called “the most excellent” by the Prophet Muhammad, or verbal jihad against tyranny, also identified as the same by him.

Then there is the jihad of arduous struggle, like the jihad against AIDS (and yes, they call it that) waged successfully in Uganda, East Africa for the past two decades. Jihad is only finally violent, as in self-defense or armed struggle.

The word “jihad” is over-used and highly mis-understood today, even by some Muslims; and apparently by the neo-Cons as well. Perhaps the latter are watching too much of their own corporate controlled media.

Yes it is true that when Muslims die, we want to do so in the way of Allah; which means in obedience to Him (Almighty God), and in a state of righteousness. Isn’t this the desire of all who are believers in the God of Abraham, and the existence of heaven and hell in the hereafter?

The Neo-Cons reveal not only their biases, but their fears, when they attack an African American Muslim leader and his Harlem-based congregation, who have been doing good works in the City of New York and beyond, for four decades. Like others from our Harlem community, we work daily to build bridges of tolerance and understanding in what is perhaps the world’s most diversified city.

What bridges have people like Mr. Pipes and the members of the Stop the Madrassa Coalition , and their advisors (many of whom do not live in New York), worked to build, anywhere? They only exploit the anxieties of good people, while perpetrating stereotypes as they engage in the politics of intolerance and fear.

In so doing, they render a disservice not only to the people of the City of New York, but the entire country. Ignorance breeds fear, fear breeds distrust, and distrust leads to division. Knowledge leads to awareness, awareness to enlightenment, enlightenment to understanding, and understanding to solidarity. What the city of New York and the entire country needs in this day and time are bridge builders not people dividers, or political wolves in sheep’s clothing. Apparently New York City’s mayor and education chancellor understand this, and good for them.

References

Banks, James A. (1997). “Multicultural Education: Goals and Dimensions”. http://www.depts.washington.edu/centerme/view.htm

Bloom, Allan (1987). The Closing of the American Mind . New York: Simon & Schuster

Chandler, Doug and Larry Cohler-Esses (2007) “Tables Turn on Arab School Critics”. The Jewish Week.August 30, 2007. New York.
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=14445

Columbus, Christopher. I, Columbus: My Journal, 1492-3 (1990) New York: Walker & Co.
Columbus, Christopher. The Four Voyages of Columbus: A History in Eight Documents, Including Five by Christopher Columbus, in the Original Spanish. Edited by Cecil Jane. London, England: Dover Publications

Cooper, J.C.(1978). An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols . London, England: Thames and Hudson

Davila, Arlene (2004). Barrio Dreams: Puerto Ricans, Latinos, and the Neoliberal City .
Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press

Hanley, Mary S. (1999). “The Scope of Multicultural Education”. New Horizons for Learning. http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/multicultural/hanley.htm

Journo, Elan (2007). “Multiculturalism’s War on Education”. The Conservative Voice.
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/27441.html

Khalil Gibran International Academy (2007). “New School: Executive Summary 2007, New Visions for Public Schools”. http://www.acei.org/misconceptions.htm

Kly, Y.N.(1989). The Anti-Social Contract . Atlanta,Ga: Clarity Press Inc.,

Van Sertima, Ivan ((1976). They Came Before Columbus: New York: Random House
Wiener, Leo (1920,1922). Africa and the Discovery of America (3 Vols.) . Philadelphia: Innes & Sons

New York Arabic school sparks row

By Kim Ghattas BBC News, New York

Last Updated: Thursday, 6 September 2007, 14:00 GMT 15:00 UK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6980966.stm

The welcome signs waved by smiling supporters were meant to make the 60 students enrolled at New York's first publicly-funded Arabic language school feel welcome on their first day in class.

Police officers were stationed by the gates on pupils' first day of school

But there was no hiding the dozen police officers who stood outside the gates, nor the reporters who had shown up for the opening of a school surrounded by controversy.

The Khalil Gibran International Academy in Brooklyn, named after a 20th Century Lebanese Christian poet, has attracted students from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Some have joined to reconnect with their families' culture and homeland; others, with no Arab or Muslim background, because they believe learning the language will give them a valuable skill.

But while the school is backed by city authorities, over the past few months it has become embroiled in a row fuelled by suspicion over its curriculum and a controversy over its original head teacher.

Suspicion

As classes began on Tuesday, members of the "Stop the Madrassa" protest group rallied outside New York's City Hall, calling for the school to be shut down.

Supporters say it is no different to other language schools in New York

Although "Madrassa" means school in Arabic, in English the word has become associated with radical Muslim religious schools.

Opponents of the Brooklyn school argue that not enough has been made public about its curriculum, which is why there is suspicion about its agenda.

"We are, all of us, in favour of teaching Arabic, it's not about whether we teach Arabic culture. We're all in favour of doing that too," said Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security and Policy in Washington and a former assistant secretary of defence in the Reagan administration.

"It is about teaching it in an appropriate way and this is not an appropriate way. In fact, it is a way that is fraught with peril, not just for New York but for the country at large."

An internet search reveals how heated the discussion has become. A post on one website suggests that the school's football field will be converted into a terrorist training camp.
Another comment reads: "Now Muslims will be able to learn how to become terrorists without leaving New York."

Double standards

New York City's education department has defended the school against its critics.

Education officials say the school will teach the normal core curriculum

Official Garth Harries told reporters there were 200 small schools in New York teaching Chinese, French and Russian and that the Arabic language school would be no different.

"It's a core sixth grade curriculum that these kids are starting with, which is the basics - maths, English, history, science," she was quoted as saying.

"And the kids are also going to be learning Arabic, which is an incredibly exciting and unique opportunity for these kids.

"Religion plays absolutely no part in the school. This is a public school, it wouldn't play a part in any of our schools."

The school also has the support of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The New York Immigration Coalition has condemned the attacks on the school, saying a clear message must be sent "that racist comments associating Arabic language and culture with terrorism will not be tolerated".

If anything they want to show off the kind of tolerance and culture that they want to teach
Chung-Wha HongNew York Immigration CoalitionExecutive director Chung-Wha Hong said the school, like any other, had to be very open about its curriculum and indeed had shown its readiness to be so.

"If anything they want to show off the kind of tolerance and culture that they want to teach," she said.

"It would be a mistake to demand more information from this school than we do from others. We would be applying double standards."

But Mona elTahawy, a New York-based commentator on Muslim and Arab affairs, said the school should be making more details public.

"I think it's a serious mistake on behalf of the school and the Department of Education not to have made it much clearer, much earlier what exactly the school was going to be teaching," she said.

Furore
The controversy over the school reached fever pitch last month after its founding principal, Debbie Almontaser, failed to condemn the use of the word "intifada" in the slogan "Intifada NYC" on a T-shirt worn by Arab women.

Headteacher Debbie Almontaser resigned after a controversy

The Arabic term is commonly used to refer to the Palestinian uprising against Israel. Ms Almontaser said in Arabic it simply means "shaking off".

Two local tabloids reported claims she had ties to Islamic extremist organizations. But friends and supporters say she is a moderate Muslim who preaches inter-faith understanding.

Ms Almontaser resigned and the city replaced her with a Jewish principal who does not speak Arabic.

Parents who decided to send their children to the school said they were upset and saddened by the furore.

Among them was a Jewish mother who was on the design team for the school and said she would not have supported it if there were anything sinister on the agenda.

Another mother, Carmen Colon, had enrolled her 11-year-old son but pulled him out when the controversy started growing.

"I know for a fact that any American who learns Arabic will make tons of money whether it's translation, whether it's in the customer service area," she told US networks.

"The people who are so against the school for me seem more like the terrorists, by terrorising the community and making us feel that it's unsafe for our children to be there."

Hebrew school

Meanwhile, the Hebrew-teaching Ben Gamla charter school in Hollywood, Florida, has also been also in the spotlight, with its Kosher meals, rabbinical director and lessons about Jewish culture.

At the heart of the debate over both schools is whether Arabic and Hebrew can be taught without teaching religion.

Ultimately, it stems from the American conviction that paying taxes to support religious teachings is a violation of the separation of church and state.

While there have been no rallies demanding that the Ben Gamla school be shut down, the school was ordered to suspend Hebrew classes while officials from the local school board determined whether teachers were advocating the Jewish faith.

The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish campaign group, and the Jewish Federation of Broward County have expressed concerns about the separation of church and state.

"There are unanswered questions as to how the subject matter of Jewish culture can be taught without also teaching the Jewish religion," federation head Eric Stillman said.

In New York, at the City Hall protest, Frank Gaffney from the Center for Security policy said he thought taxpayers' money should not go to the Ben Gamla school either.