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Barack Obama religion conspiracy theories

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Barack and Michelle Obama, their children, and Chief Justice John Roberts.
Barack Obama swearing the oath of office of the President of the United States using the Bible of Abraham Lincoln.

Barack Obama religion conspiracy theories — that he secretly follows a non-Christian religion, or that he is the Antichrist — have been suggested ever since Barack Obama began his campaign to become United States President in 2007. Like the Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories, these claims are promoted by a number of fringe theorists and political opponents. [1] [2]

Claims that Obama secretly practices Islam

See also: Public image of Barack Obama § Religion

Though Obama is a practicing Christian,[3] and he was chiefly raised by his mother and her parents who were Christians, both his father Barack Obama, Sr., and his stepfather Lolo Soetoro with whom he lived during his early childhood were nominally Muslims. Because of this minimal connection to Islam, a common claim lodged by conspiracy theorists is that Obama secretly practices Islam.

Talk radio host Mark Williams, a leader in the populist Tea Party protest movement, described Obama as an "Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug" in remarks on his blog. When Williams appeared on the CNN show Anderson Cooper 360 in September 2009, he was asked if he really believed these statements, and he responded: “[Obama’s] certainly acting like it... Until he embraces the whole country, what else can I conclude?”[4]

An in-depth analysis written by journalist Peter Katel and published by CQ Researcher finds that conspiracy theories like both the citizenship and religion based ones and are often race based and could be used to attempt to undermine Obama's authority as President, which could result in violence. [5]

Prominent South Carolina state senator Jake Knotts caused a controversy after using the term "raghead" to refer to both Barack Obama and South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley. The term "raghead" is frequently used as a slur against Muslims and Sikhs. [6]

Qur'an rumors

A chain e-mail circulating during the presidential campaign claimed that Obama took his oath of office as a U.S. Senator in 2005 while placing his hand on a Qur'an rather than a Bible. This claim is false; Obama was sworn into office using a Bible, which he owned. The claim may have been inspired by a photo-op re-enactment of the 2007 swearing-in of U.S. Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota, who used a Qur'an that had belonged to Thomas Jefferson.[7]

Wahabism rumors

Another chain e-mail that circulated during Obama's presidential campaign claimed that

"Obama was enrolled in a Wahabi school in Jakarta. Wahabism is the RADICAL teaching that is followed by the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world."

This claim originally came from article published by Insight, a now-defunct conservative magazine owned by Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. The magazine's editor claimed that its source was the rival Hillary Clinton campaign, which denied the allegation. The rumor was subsequently promoted by conservative talk show hosts such as Michael Savage, who referred in June 2007 to Obama's "background" in a "Muslim madrassa in Indonesia".[8]

In fact, the school Obama attended in Indonesia was a public school where students wore Western clothing. Although Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country, Obama's school was described by the Chicago Tribune as "so progressive that teachers wore miniskirts and all students were encouraged to celebrate Christmas." Obama had also attended a Catholic school in Indonesia for several years, and was not raised in any particular faith tradition.[9]

Middle name "Mohammed" rumors

One chain e-mail claimed that President Obama's middle name is Mohammed or Muhammed; this is not and has never been true.[10][11]

Claims that Obama is the Antichrist

During the presidential campaign, one chain e-mail accused Barack Obama of secretly being the Antichrist from the Bible:

"According to The Book of Revelations the anti-christ is: The anti-christ will be a man, in his 40s, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, will destroy everything is it OBAMA??"[12]

In fact, the word Antichrist does not appear in the Book of Revelation (though it does appear in 1 John and 2 John); the Book of Revelation instead refers to The Beast. The Book of Revelation never mentions the Beast's age, nor does it include any references to "Muslim descent", as Islam did not exist at the time the Book of Revelation was written.[12]

Politically conservative comedian Victoria Jackson, who became famous on Saturday Night Live, claimed on her own website that Obama had "traits that resemble the anti-Christ".[13]

The Illinois Lottery drew 666 on 11/05/2008[14], the day after Obama's election-win. People saw a sign of the Antichrist in this, the Mark of the Beast, and a few videos on this topic have found some following on Internet. A Newsweek article[15] was most notable in underlining the event. Why Newsweek was brought to pay attention to this is probably because the special victory edition for Obama's win was on 11/06/2008, so the Lotto and victory got the same massive news-coverage, side by side.

Political polls

Public opinion surveys carried out beginning in 2008 have shown that a number of Americans (predominately Republicans), believe that Obama is either a Muslim, is the Antichrist or both. In March 2008, a survey conducted by Pew Research Center found that 10% of respondents believed that he is a Muslim. Those who were more likely to believe he is a Muslim included conservative Republicans and Democrats, people who had not attended college, people who lived in the Midwest or the South, and people in rural areas.[16]

A University of Georgia study found that the percentage of Americans who believed that Obama is a Muslim remained constant at approximately 20% in September, October, and November 2008, despite frequent attempts by the media to correct this misperception. However, the study also showed that some people who had initially believed Obama to be a Christian, later believed the rumor that he is a Muslim. The survey found that respondents who had shifted to the misperception were generally younger, less politically involved, less educated, more conservative, and more likely to believe in Biblical literalism. According to Professor Barry Hollander, "These are groups of people who are generally distrustful of the mainstream media...So therefore journalists telling them that this is not true could actually have the opposite effect and make them more likely to believe the rumor."[17]

In September 2009, a Public Policy Polling survey in New Jersey found that 8% of all respondents (and 14% of Republicans) said that they believed that Obama is the Antichrist, and another 13% (15% among Republicans) were not sure.[18]

A poll conducted in March 2010 by Harris Interactive appeared to show a large increase in the number of Americans believing the Muslim and Antichrist rumors.[19] 57% of Republicans and 32% of all of the study's responders said that they believed Obama is a Muslim; 24% of Republicans and 14% of all responders agreed with the statement that he might be the Antichrist.[20][21] The study was characterized as manipulative, biased and greatly overstating the negative opinions of Americans.[20] The questions consisted of a series of fifteen negative statements about Obama which began with the phrase "Here are some things people have said about President Obama".[22] Respondents were asked whether they agreed. According to pollster Gary Langer, the introductory phrase "imbues the subsequent statements with an air of credibility, particularly when you don't note that others say something else".[20] According to Langer, the bias is compounded because all the statements about Obama were negative, no alternative choices were given, and people tend to agree with questions asked of them. Furthermore, the group surveyed was not a scientifically chosen random sample of all Americans, it was an internet poll with respondents earning points redeemable for prizes.[20] Surveys which do not use random samples are unreliable[22] and are not reported by many news outlets including the Washington Post and the New York Times.[22] The purpose of the poll was also questioned.[20] According to the Daily Telegraph, "The poll was carried out to measure extreme views following the publication of Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America, a book by John Avlon."[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ Graham, David A. (February 12, 2010). "Know Your Conspiracies NEWSWEEK's guide to today's trendiest, hippest, and least likely fringe beliefs". Newsweek. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  2. ^ Henig, Jess (January 10, 2008). "Sliming Obama - Dueling chain e-mails claim he's a radical Muslim or a 'racist' Christian. Both can't be right. We find both are false". Factcheck.org. Retrieved April 21, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Miller, Lisa (July 12, 2008). "Finding His Faith: So much has been made about Barack Obama's religion. But what does he believe, and how did he arrive at those beliefs?". Newsweek. Retrieved March 25, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Edwards, David; Tencer, Daniel (September 15, 2009). "After weeks of softball coverage, CNN tears into Tea Party organizer". The Raw Story. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  5. ^ Katel, Peter (October 23, 2009). "CQ Researcher Conspiracy Theories v.19-37". CQ Researcher. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  6. ^ "Jake Knotts, "Raghead," and the nature of GOP racism". Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  7. ^ "Obama sworn in on his Bible". PolitiFact.com. December 20, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  8. ^ Bacon Jr, Perry (November 29m 2007). "Foes Use Obama's Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him". The Washington Post. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Obama attended an Indonesian public school". PolitiFact.com. December 20, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  10. ^ "Not a Muslim; not Mohammed". PolitiFact.com. January 11, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  11. ^ "No Muhammed or Mohammed in Obama's name". PolitiFact.com. May 2, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  12. ^ a b "Complete distortion of the Bible". PolitiFact.com. April 2, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  13. ^ "Seriously? Actress Victoria Jackson thinks Barack Obama Resembles the Anti-Christ". US News & World Report. October 28, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  14. ^ http://www.illinoislottery.com/subsections/History/Win2008.htm
  15. ^ http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/lisa_miller/2008/11/is_obama_and_antichrist.html
  16. ^ "Obama Weathers the Wright Storm, Clinton Faces Credibility Problem". Pew Research Center. 2008-03-27.
  17. ^ Fahm, Sam (March 10, 2010). "Study explores belief in rumor that Obama is Muslim" (Press release). University of Georgia. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  18. ^ "Extremism in New Jersey". Public Policy Polling. September 16, 2009.
  19. ^ Hall, Alyssa (March 25, 2010). ""Wingnuts" and President Obama: A socialist? A Muslim? Anti-American? The Anti-Christ? Large minorities of Americans hold some remarkable opinions". Harris Poll. Harris Interactive. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  20. ^ a b c d e Langer, Gary (March 24, 2010). "Polling on Presidential Pejoratives". ABC News Polling Unit. ABCNews.com. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  21. ^ a b Allen, Nick (March 25, 2010). "Quarter of Republicans think Barack Obama is 'the Antichrist'". Daily Telegraph, U.K.
  22. ^ a b c Interlandi, Jeneen (March 26, 2010). "Obama Is Not the Antichrist—And Nobody Really Thinks He Is". The Gaggle. Newsweek. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
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