Weekly Terrorism Spotlight

Volume 1, Issue 2 (March 24)

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Non-Muslim Obama: America is a Muslim nation

While not a Muslim, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama said, “America is a Muslim nation.”

While Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama reacts to a storm of backlash over extremist statements made by his 20-year mentor, advisor and spiritual guide, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, unnoticed in the media are statements by Obama himself.

Unobserved are Obama’s statements of faith and ideological beliefs and background that Obama himself said will guide his administration; un-noticed are comments about America leaving a Christian past for a Muslim future.

Obama agues he is not a Muslim - his youth included only a brief few years under Islamic influence before his father turned atheist.

In time, Barack began attending Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago’s south side, and sat under what has been revealed as the “inflammatory rhetoric” of his mentor-pastor, Rev. Wright.

Wright and Nation of Islam founder/leader Louis Farrakhan are close friends; Wright awarded Farrakhan his church’s lifetime achievement award, and in return, Farrakhan endorsed Obama early in the quest for the Democratic nomination for U.S. President.

Obama weeks ago distanced himself from Farrakhan’s endorsement, and despite passionate advocacy by several Islamic Muslim groups, he has shot down attempts to tie his campaign to Muslim organizations.

Obama cites his 20-year membership at Trinity United, stating, “I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and affirm my Christian faith.”

Putting that issue to rest, he added further points regarding the tremendous flow of religiosity in America’s character as a nation in the same June 2006 address.

“Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation; we are…a Muslim nation,” he said. “At some fundamental level, religion does not allow for compromise.”

Obama said work would be needed to counteract the dangers of past religious errors, adding, “in a pluralistic democracy, we have no choice,” as “the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific values.”

He acknowledged evangelical Christians would take the news hard. “This is going to be difficult for some who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, as many evangelicals do,” he said.

“It’s the art of the impossible, If God has spoken, then followers are expected to live up to God’s edicts, regardless of the consequences.”

Obama campaigners are running damage control over statements by his pastor, the Rev. Wright, a high-level advisor to Obama until campaign adjustments days ago.

Wright, who dropped his title as Trinity United pastor days ago, received famed attention for thundering rants, saying blacks should not sing, “God Bless America” but “God damn America.”

Wright also said the United States brought on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks through policies of state terrorism.

In addition to being Obama’s mentor - leading Obama into politics - and Presidential campaign advisor, Wright performed Obama’s marriage to wife Michelle and baptized their two children.

Obama also named his Presidential campaign book, “The Audacity of Hope,” after a sermon that Wright preached.

“We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye,” the Rev. Wright said in a Sept. 16, 2001 sermon.

“We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans,” he added. “America’s chickens are coming home to roost.”

The references mirrored statements made by black Muslim minister El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, or Malcolm X, favoring the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

The links between Obama, his extremist pastor, and black identity Muslim extremists were the topics for much commentary this week.

“Obama has denounced his pastors remarks…The denunciation is hollow, given Obama’s long voluntary history with the pastor,” commentator David Limbaugh said Tuesday, March 18.

“If one looks at the video, church members are standing, shouting approval and applauding,” nationally noted columnist Cal Thomas added.

“One can fairly conclude he is speaking for most, if not all, of the congregation. But not for Barack Obama, he says.”

Columnist and former White House advisor Patrick J. Buchanan said that Obama’s denunciations come “too late” after revealing Obama’s “bad company” kept over the years.

“His company embodies the anti-white racism and anti-Americanism that has ever brought the patriotic blood of Middle America to a boil,” Buchanan said.

“Bad company” links were difficult to trace this week because dozens of Muslims for Obama Internet website links to several Muslim groups revealed error messages or “website under construction” temporary pages.

What caused dozens of website linkages of different pro-Obama Muslim groups to drop simultaneously from the Internet remains unknown at this week’s story posting deadline.