It seems like Queen Hilary I may be in for more of a nomination fight than may have initially been thought. Recent Democratic party golden boy Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. has just indicated that he is seriously considering throwing his hat into the ring. While I’m thrilled to see a minority candidate for the Oval Office, I’m not so thrilled about it being Obama. Democrats in favor of Obama are going to play up the idea that Obama is overtly religious, as opposed to Hillary’s persona of being religious only at election time. While this may be technically correct, I anticipate a somewhat major speedbump on the road to the nomination if Obama chooses to go with this strategy : he’s an apostate Muslim. Muslims as a group have tended toward favoring Democrats in national elections. I suspect the reason is the same as African Americans favoring Democrats; they aren’t so much supportive of Democrats’ policies as they are opposed to what they understand Republican policies to be. Democrats can probably count on the relatively small Muslim vote in the 2008 Presidential election if Senator Clinton is nominated, however if the nomination goes to Senator Obama, I highly suspect that the Muslim vote will go to Republicans (or perhaps simply sit home on election day). Democrats need to understand that while Obama may be more acceptable to “middle America” than the much more polarized Mrs. Clinton, he definitely carries some baggage with him. One of the factors that is definitely going to work against him, should he earn the nomination, is whether Muslims decisively oppose him or merely ignore the election as a silent protest. This is newsworthy information and I will certainly post further information as we approach the race to the nomination.
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Omar, roughly what percentage of nominal American Muslims could be considered apostate? I realize such stats may not exist or may not be reliable.
I’m just wondering if, like Catholics who have no problem voting for pro-choice Catholic politicians, Muslims as a whole would really find Obama’s religious status a dealbreaker.
I too am wondering about the “Muslim Vote.” I have not really heard anything about this group’s voting tendancies, population, or strength. So I don’t really know when I wonder: will this even matter on election day?
Obama strongly opposed the recent military interrogation bill signed into law a couple weeks ago. I have a feeling that most muslims are very much with him on this sentiment.
As you point out, no reliable statistics exist on this issue.
Yes, they would. Unless they too are apostate and this may well be the election that brings non-practicing Muslims out of the woodwork. Although Muslims supported the election of President Bush in 2000 (and as a rule were primarily Republican supporters because of the party’s pro-religion stace whereas Democrats’ public image is that of anti-religionists), his susbsequent policies post-9/11 rapidly converted Muslims to the Democratic side. Having said that, however, I should point out that apostasy is a BIIIIIGGGG deal in Islam. I won’t go so far as to say that there is no worse sin, but it’s definitely top 5. In Barack Obama’s case, he’s not just an apostate secularist or atheist or non-practicing Muslim; he’s openly pushing the cause of his new religion. That is going to absolutely mobilize the Muslim community against him. Whether Republicans manage to change their dominant attitudes and policies toward Muslims and pick these voters back up again is entirely up in the air at this point, but Democrats will forfeit the suppor they have enjoyed from MPAC, CAIR, and the grassroots Muslim community since possibly 2002, definitely 2004 (in which they endorsed John Kerry) if they choose Barack Obama as their candidate for the Presidency in 2008.
Only for total popular vote numbers and perhaps in swing states (Michigan comes to mind).
Possibly, but this isn’t general support for Democrats so much as it is rejection of Republicans. Should the D’s nominate Senator Clinton, then Muslims will continue to support them. Should they choose Senator Obama, then his apostasy will override every other issue. The Muslim community will either support whomever the Republican candidate is or sit home. There will be no support for Senator Obama. This is a line in the sand for devout Muslims. This isn’t the liberal Catholics or Reform Jews deciding to vote for John Kerry here. This is something that most Americans have never seen before. This is absolutely a defining issue for us.
What exactly qualifies him as previously muslim? I’m not aware of much of his religious past, but I thought I read that he was mostly raised by his presbyterian mother.
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. was born to a Kenyan father and an American mother. His father Barack Obama, Sr. was born to Muslim parents, although later became non-practicing (although formally agnostic) after travelling to the West. After Senator Obama’s parents were divorced, his mother married an Indonesian Muslim man and they moved to Jakarta where Senator Obama was educated in a Muslim school for two years, then two years in a Catholic school. By birth (father) and later adoption (step-father), Senator Obama is a Muslim, although he converted to the United Church of Christ later in life.
He was raised by his mother’s parents in Hawaii from age 10 on. I am unsure of their religious affiliation (if any).
hopefully card check wont come back thatd be a soft tyranny