# 54% of Republicans say that, "deep down," Obama is a Muslim **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 25, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615 "2015-02-25T23:06:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/81 "2015-02-27T00:19:20Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Obama can be almost poetic in describing what he loves about Islam (as when he says the sweetest sound he knows is the Muslim call to prayer). Can anyone think of a time he’s ever said anything so eloquent about Christianity? That’s not what President Obama [said](http://www.factcheck.org/2009/12/truth-on-the-cutting-room-floor/). (Somehow, “one of the prettiest sounds”, spoken to a Muslim audience, became “the sweetest sound”. I’m sure that such misrepresentations couldn’t be contributing to surveys like that described in the OP.) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/82 "2015-02-27T00:32:24Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Can anyone think of a time he’s ever said anything so eloquent about Christianity? There’s this statement of his about Easter: > [@](#): > > "For even after the passage of 2,000 years, we can still picture the moment in our mind’s eye. The young man from Nazareth marched through Jerusalem; object of scorn and derision and abuse and torture by an empire. The agony of crucifixion amid the cries of thieves. The discovery, just three days later, that would forever alter our world – that the Son of Man was not to be found in his tomb and that Jesus Christ had risen. > > “We are awed by the grace he showed even to those who would have killed him. We are thankful for the sacrifice he gave for the sins of humanity. And we glory in the promise of redemption in the resurrection.” ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/83 "2015-02-27T02:35:24Z")
This is jaw dropping ignorance. Everyone knows Obama is a godless communist. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/84 "2015-02-27T02:54:47Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Maybe because, to a Republican, his not being Christian means he’s incapable of being a Real American President? Democrats don’t tend to associate religion with politics, at least in my experience. Personally, I don’t care what religion my politicians are. > > But hey, good job on the attempt to paint liberals as hypocrites, rather than actually addressing the issue. Nice try, yourself. I am addressing the very poll this whole thread is about. The OP tries to say, “Most Republicans think Obama isn’t a Christian!That means they’re ignorant bigots.” I point out that the very same poll shows most DEMOCRATS don’t believe Obama is a Christian, either. So, does that make Democrats idiots as well? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/85 "2015-02-27T02:55:51Z")
P.S. Since Obama’s right-hand man David Axelrod has revealed that Barack Obama LIED about his religious beliefs to Rick Warren in a church, why would you EXPECT people to take Obama’s word for anything? The man has PROVEN he’d say anything about his religious beliefs to get elected. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/86 "2015-02-27T03:07:37Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > The man has PROVEN he’d say anything about his religious beliefs to get elected. This makes him different than all other politicians in what way? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/87 "2015-02-27T04:18:01Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > Actually, if any of you people took the time to read EITHER of Obama’s books, you’d know that he spent 4 years when he was a child living in Indonesia (a Muslim country), attended a public school there, and is therefore VERY familiar with (an admittedly relatively liberal) Muslim culture. He lived with his mother and Muslim stepfather during his time there. > > So yeah, there’s that. But I don’t think he’s a Muslim. I think he’s just a typical ambitious politician, who would have done a better job as POTUS if he had waited another 20 years or so and gained the wisdom of age. Wasn’t his stepfather Buddhist? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/88 "2015-02-27T15:01:47Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Wasn’t his stepfather Buddhist? No, his stepfather Lolo Soetoro was a Muslim, like most people in Indonesia. A lot of people aren’t aware that Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country. As GetLives notes, most Indonesians have, historically, practiced a relatively benign and liberal version of Islam. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/89 "2015-02-27T15:03:26Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > This makes him different than all other politicians in what way? > :rolleyes: You don’t see a difference between standard political smoke blowing and declaring in a Church, “As a Christian, I believe God intended marriage to be between a man and a woman”? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/90 "2015-02-27T15:42:29Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > You don’t see a difference between standard political smoke blowing and declaring in a Church, “As a Christian, I believe God intended marriage to be between a man and a woman”? No, it’s all blowing the smoke your constituents want to smell. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/91 "2015-02-27T15:48:35Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > P.S. Since Obama’s right-hand man David Axelrod has revealed that Barack Obama LIED about his religious beliefs to Rick Warren in a church, why would you EXPECT people to take Obama’s word for anything? > > The man has PROVEN he’d say anything about his religious beliefs to get elected. Your idea of “proven” apparently means any random assertion that supports your prejudice. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/92 "2015-02-27T15:51:14Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > You don’t see a difference between standard political smoke blowing and declaring in a Church, “As a Christian, I believe God intended marriage to be between a man and a woman”? If you haven’t already, you should join me in advocating for candidates to leave their religious affectations behind when applying for high government positions. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/93 "2015-02-27T16:15:41Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > If you haven’t already, you should join me in advocating for candidates to leave their religious affectations behind when applying for high government positions. They’d never be elected in the Bible Belt. Without _GAWD_ and _JAYSUS_…sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/94 "2015-02-27T16:28:36Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > A lot of people aren’t aware that Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country. As GetLives notes, most Indonesians have, historically, practiced a relatively benign and liberal version of Islam. Indeed. There are about 1.6 billion Muslims, most of whom don’t live in the middle east. To equate religious extremism with the typical Muslim is akin to equating the Westboro Baptist Church with a typical Christian. Yet that’s routinely done in America, where the underlying accusation of “Muslim” is “terrorist” (or, at the very least, contempt towards women, non-Muslim infidels, and Western freedom). That’s the saddest implication part of this sort of polling - Muslims are stigmatized in the U.S. The other sad part is how most of the distorted evidence of Obama’s Muslim roots seems to come from speeches he has taken when trying to appeal to Muslim audiences, as when he traveled to Cairo in 2009. Manipulating his words from those talks ignores the entire context in which it was given; it’s akin to accusing JFK of being a Nazi because he once gave a “speech” in German. A good politician tries to relate to his audience. A smart leader tries to gain concessions from other nations. One way to do that is to make it palatable for that country’s rulers to cooperate with the U.S., and the best way to do that is to not paint their entire culture with a broad, stereotyped brush. A little bit of rhetorical flattery should not be confused with religious adherence. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/95 "2015-02-27T17:22:37Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > They’d never be elected in the Bible Belt. Without _GAWD_ and _JAYSUS_…sorry. The job starts here. Convincing one person at a time. It’s taken me 40 years to get a majority on board with pot legalization. All by myself, too. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/96 "2015-02-27T17:25:06Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > In other words, MOST Democrats either don’t know that Obama claims to be a Christian or don’t believe him. > > Why are so many liberals only outraged about the REPUBLICANS who don’t believe Obama is a Christian? Look deeper. Another 26% of Democrats said that they don’t know what he believes, deep down; that’s a more-or-less acceptable answer, based on the idea that someone’s personal religious belief is their own business. That together with “Christian” equals 71% of people. Add in the totally squishy “spiritual” at about 18%, and you’ve got nearly 90% of Democrats either punting or giving the correct answer. (I consider “spiritual” to be a total punt). The Democrats who consider him to be a secret Muslim or atheist are idiots, granted. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/97 "2015-02-27T17:53:48Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Look deeper. Another 26% of Democrats said that they don’t know what he believes, deep down; that’s a more-or-less acceptable answer, based on the idea that someone’s personal religious belief is their own business. . If “I don’t know what Obama believes and don’t care” is an acceptable stance for Democrats, why were liberals so outraged when Scott Walker gave that exact same answer? Remember that Walker himself has NEVER raised the issue of whether Obama is a CHristian. When asked, he said he’d never talked o Obama about it, didn’t know or care what Obama really believed, and berated the reporter for asking a pointless question. The response? Liberals were outraged that Walker did anything other than assert confidently that Obama was a sincere Christian. If “I don’t know” is not an acceptable answer from Walker, it’s not an acceptable answer from you. That works both ways, of course. If it IS an acceptable answer from you, it’s a fine answer for Scott Walker, and I expect you to tell the Jonatahn CJaits of the world to shut up. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/98 "2015-02-27T17:54:45Z")
Walker wasn’t asked that “exact same” question, now was he? Nor was his answer the “exact same”. Try again. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/99 "2015-02-27T19:50:39Z")
Nonsense, **astorian**. A multiple-choice answer to a poll is very different from an open-ended question. Scott could have said something like, “Obviously, I can’t read Obama’s mind, but every indication is that he’s a Christian, and the idea that he’s Muslim is absurd.” Someone with a multiple-choice answer couldn’t have given that answer. Furthermore, I completely accept that a lot of folks, Democratic and Republican alike, don’t follow politics closely enough to have any idea about matters like a president’s religious affiliation. That’s a fine level of ignorance for a voter. I straight up do not believe that Walker is that ignorant. Finally, for all the problems in America, expressing less than complete certainty about the president’s religion is among the least important. I agree that the flack Walker is catching over this is far overblown, compared to the flack he ought to catch for his sleazy and dishonest union-busting, for example. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/100 "2015-02-27T20:17:15Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > They figured most folks have seen him take his morning stroll on the reflecting pool. > :rolleyes: It appears that they figured wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615.md?page=6)