# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/141 "2015-03-02T05:33:55Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > He’d be ‘strongly advised’ to resign and if he refused the Senate would start impeachment hearings immediately. Impeachment for what? Conversion to Islam? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/142 "2015-03-02T09:27:30Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > So for Obama to refuse to criticize islam at all is like Truman or Eisenhower refusing to criticize Nazism or communism, when it is obvious that they are completely un-American in every way. Sure, we have to give lip service to the arab states we’re friendly with, but just as the Cold War was a war against communism and WWII a war against fascism, this is a war on radical islam. Always has been and always will be. The problem here is that most of the current victims of Islamist terrorism and the allies in the region whom we will need to roll back and destroy terrorist groups are also Muslim. I do with President Obama would be more willing to call a spade a spade even if simply to shut the critics up but we are not and we cannot be in any meaningful sense at war with Islam. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/143 "2015-03-02T09:29:14Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Of course there’s no legal ramifications to it, but it would be political suicide. In a democracy you only have power if enough people let you. Not only would there be a public outcry but his entire administration would abandon him. It would be just like Nixon. He’d be ‘strongly advised’ to resign and if he refused the Senate would start impeachment hearings immediately. And, again like Nixon did, if he tried to use his office’s power to save himself his orders would be ignored. > > Even Biden would be measuring the drapes in the oval office! 😃 Unlike you, I have enough faith in the American people that they are not bigoted and intolerant enough to think that adhering to a particular religion is equivalent to obstructing justice by engaging in a criminal cover-up of a burglary. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/144 "2015-03-02T09:34:31Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > My problem with Obama is not that I think he secretly prays to Mecca when nobody’s looking. It’s that he doesn’t seem to accept the idea that America was founded on and strongly adheres to general Judeo-Christian values and beliefs. I’m not religious (atheist I guess) but I still believe and value these things. And firmly believe them to be superior (more enlightened, more democratic, more humane, more realistic etc.) to the ethical and moral and cultural beliefs of Islam (as well as strict Catholicism, Orthodox Judaism etc.) And I don’t consider myself a Nazi for this… 😃 So what particular denomination of Judaism and Christianity are associated with these “Judeo-Christian” values if not Roman Catholicism or Orthodox Judaism? The values this country was founded upon is really more of a mixture of the political Protestant tradition and Enlightenment thinking with varying degrees depending on the Founding Father then anything broadly defined as “Judeo-Christian” which can just as easily be used to justify the Divine Right of Kings and submission to the state. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/145 "2015-03-02T13:50:22Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > ‘Islam’ does not mean ‘peace’, it means ‘submission’. Total submission to their version of god. And total subjugation of those who refuse. This is why there are no, and never will be any, islamic democracies. Democracy (and therefore America) is totally and completely un-islamic. This is why islam has never prospered in the enlightened West. It openly and emphatically denounces any ideas of free speech, free thought, equal rights, the whole thing, life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness. Unless it is thru a direct devotion to (their) god. This is also why it has thrived in third world cultures (and later countries) that are authoritarian, brutal, and un-democratic. > > So for Obama to refuse to criticize islam at all is like Truman or Eisenhower refusing to criticize Nazism or communism, when it is obvious that they are completely un-American in every way. Sure, we have to give lip service to the arab states we’re friendly with, but just as the Cold War was a war against communism and WWII a war against fascism, this is a war on radical islam. Always has been and always will be. The Turks and Indonesians would, I’m sure, beg to differ that there are not any and will never be Islamic democracies. What the Reich wing wants is for Obama to say “Islamic terrorism” so they can focus on the “Islamic” part and continue to denigrate the world’s second largest religion because of the actions of a tiny minority. > [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > My problem with Obama is not that I think he secretly prays to Mecca when nobody’s looking. It’s that he doesn’t seem to accept the idea that America was founded on and strongly adheres to general Judeo-Christian values and beliefs. I’m not religious (atheist I guess) but I still believe and value these things. And firmly believe them to be superior (more enlightened, more democratic, more humane, more realistic etc.) to the ethical and moral and cultural beliefs of Islam (as well as strict Catholicism, Orthodox Judaism etc.) And I don’t consider myself a Nazi for this… 😃 I’ve never heard “Judeo-Christian values” uttered by anyone but a right-winger and very seldom anyone who wasn’t a Christian. The Founding Fathers, whom the right wing deems infallible, were primarily deists. Jefferson himself was open minded enough to have his own copy of the Koran. > [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > The reason he refuses to use the phrase “Islamic terrorists” is his refusal to acknowledge that the muslim religion is the overwhelming cause. All muslims aren’t terrorists but all of these current terrorists are muslim. And more importantly, it is their (very common in their countries) interpretation of this religion which is totally driving their motivation to murder. And by not saying so Obama is tacitly agreeing with this. > > Its like refusing to admit that Germany invaded Poland unprovoked. Not all Germans were Nazis, but a majority of them voted Hitler in and reaped the benefits for a while. But in the end they knew it was a horrible mistake, and an entire generation and then some are still ashamed for it. Muslims should be horribly ashamed of these so-called ‘fellow muslims’, yet they aren’t. At all. > > This is the crux of the ‘Obama is really a muslim’ belief. The crux of the “Obama is really a Muslim” belief is bigotry, pure and simple. The knuckle draggers logic is “we hate Obama, we hate Muslims, Obama must be a Muslim”. Hitler never won a majority vote. You might want to research how Hitler seized power. Saying “Islamic terrorists” may satiate the infantile knee-jerk reactions of the American right wing fascists, but it would do more harm than good. It would offend friendly Islamic states such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Indonesia, and the UAE. It would drive a needless wedge in the coalition that is currently fighting ISIS, and for no other reason than to shut up the bigots on the American right. Fuck them- Obama has it right. > [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Unlike you, I have enough faith in the American people that they are not bigoted and intolerant enough to think that adhering to a particular religion is equivalent to obstructing justice by engaging in a criminal cover-up of a burglary. There are enough bigots in the US that it would be problematic. Look at the dumb asses in Murfreesboro TN trying to block construction of a mosque. Look at the recreational outrage over the “ground zero mosque”. There are a buttload of ignorant bigots in the US and one party more than eager to exploit their hatred. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/146 "2015-03-02T17:38:05Z")
And all the way through this thread, my brain is screaming, “WHAT THE FUCK DIFFERENCE WOULD IT MAKE?!” What an astounding waste of energy, breath and electrons… ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/147 "2015-03-03T06:01:06Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Unlike you, I have enough faith in the American people that they are not bigoted and intolerant enough to think that adhering to a particular religion is equivalent to obstructing justice by engaging in a criminal cover-up of a burglary. You also seem to have absolutely no grasp of how closely linked politics & religion are in this country. If he were to come out and say he was a Catholic it would still result in the biggest Constitutional crisis since the Civil War. The Republicans would pounce and the Democrats would abandon him wholesale. It could practically bring down the whole modern Democratic party. And it would be worse than what Nixon did in that he would be guilty of essentially lying about nearly everything he’s ever said or done to every single individual, both during two presidential elections and terms. But like every good liberal you can just scream “RACE CARD!” all day long. You’re right, there’s absolutely no connection whatsoever between being muslim and your opinions & actions regarding terrorism. How silly of me to even suspect such a thing. An all-muslim jury would be just as unbiased as an all-white one… ---
**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:** [March 3, 2015, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/148 "2015-03-03T06:20:11Z")
I really can’t tell if you’re joking or not. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/149 "2015-03-03T06:33:28Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > . . . The Republicans would pounce and the Democrats would abandon him wholesale. No, we wouldn’t. > [@](#): > > It could practically bring down the whole modern Democratic party. . . . Abandoning him might, but standing by him would not. Courage at this point would demonstrate Republican bigotry so openly that the few remaining moderate Republicans left would have to hide their faces in shame. It would result in the same backlash that the impeachment of '98-99 saw. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/150 "2015-03-03T09:26:47Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > You also seem to have absolutely no grasp of how closely linked politics & religion are in this country. If he were to come out and say he was a Catholic it would still result in the biggest Constitutional crisis since the Civil War… Get a grip! Were something like this to occur, it _should_ be no more consequential than his declaring himself a White Sox or Cubs fan. I agree that, sadly, it would cause a bit more of a kerfuffle than that; but not as big a one as you predict – and, as others have said, in the long run the blowback against his detractors would be significant. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/151 "2015-03-03T15:13:24Z")
If you lie about your faith, then you don’t really have any to begin with. An exception would be someone who was persecuted and had to pretend lest they be killed, but anyone who hides their true beliefs for personal ambition doesn’t really have true beliefs to hide. So he either is a Christian(albeit not a very practicing one) or agnostic or atheist and being a Christian as part of his branding. There’s just no way he’s hiding a secret Muslim faith. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/152 "2015-03-03T15:22:56Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > it _should_ be no more consequential than his declaring himself a White Sox or Cubs fan. [White Sox, btw.](http://bleacherreport.com/articles/51514-obama-white-sox-fan-cub-fans-not-serious) > [@](#): > > “You go to Wrigley Field, you have a beer, beautiful people up there,” Obama said, according to ESPN transcripts. “People aren’t watching the game. It’s not serious. White Sox, that’s baseball.” ---
**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:** [March 3, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/153 "2015-03-03T15:59:52Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > You also seem to have absolutely no grasp of how closely linked politics & religion are in this country. If he were to come out and say he was a Catholic it would still result in the biggest Constitutional crisis since the Civil War. The Republicans would pounce and the Democrats would abandon him wholesale. It could practically bring down the whole modern Democratic party. And it would be worse than what Nixon did in that he would be guilty of essentially lying about nearly everything he’s ever said or done to every single individual, both during two presidential elections and terms. > > But like every good liberal you can just scream “RACE CARD!” all day long. You’re right, there’s absolutely no connection whatsoever between being muslim and your opinions & actions regarding terrorism. How silly of me to even suspect such a thing. An all-muslim jury would be just as unbiased as an all-white one… What would the Republicans “pounce” on and would you be supportive of them for “pouncing?” Because the goal for more and more of us is to make the president’s religious beliefs inconsequential to his qualifications for the job. Bigotry against Catholics or even Muslims would come at tremendous cost to the group exhibiting it. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/154 "2015-03-03T16:27:13Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [White Sox, btw.](http://bleacherreport.com/articles/51514-obama-white-sox-fan-cub-fans-not-serious) Yeah, he loves to hang out at Cominskey Park. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/155 "2015-03-03T16:39:37Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > You also seem to have absolutely no grasp of how closely linked politics & religion are in this country. If he were to come out and say he was a Catholic it would still result in the biggest Constitutional crisis since the Civil War. The Republicans would pounce and the Democrats would abandon him wholesale. It could practically bring down the whole modern Democratic party. And it would be worse than what Nixon did in that he would be guilty of essentially lying about nearly everything he’s ever said or done to every single individual, both during two presidential elections and terms. > > But like every good liberal you can just scream “RACE CARD!” all day long. You’re right, there’s absolutely no connection whatsoever between being muslim and your opinions & actions regarding terrorism. How silly of me to even suspect such a thing. An all-muslim jury would be just as unbiased as an all-white one… Before JFK, it might have been a BFD if a president admitted to being a Catholic. No more. Of course, you’d have to explain why nobody remembered him going through confirmation or remembered him attending mass, so to come out now and so “oh, by the way, I’m Catholic” might raise some eyebrows and incredulousness, but that would be about it. There would be nothing for Republicans to pounce on and there would be no constitutional crisis. If he was Queen Elizabeth, sure. But he isn’t. You seem to imply that there should be a connection between faith and views on terrorism. I find that appalling. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/156 "2015-03-03T16:40:02Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > If you lie about your faith, then you don’t really have any to begin with. An exception would be someone who was persecuted and had to pretend lest they be killed, but anyone who hides their true beliefs for personal ambition doesn’t really have true beliefs to hide. So… Jesus, for example. Peter, too, off the top of my head. No true faith? For my part, the solution to this question is very simple. Put Obama in a room with a vampire and a selection of religious symbols. Which will he use to deter the fiend? Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/157 "2015-03-03T16:50:21Z")
> [@Revenant\_Threshold](#): > > So… Jesus, for example. ??? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/158 "2015-03-03T16:53:06Z")
> [@Revenant\_Threshold](#): > > So… Jesus, for example. Peter, too, off the top of my head. No true faith? > > For my part, the solution to this question is very simple. Put Obama in a room with a vampire and a selection of religious symbols. Which will he use to deter the fiend? Problem solved. Wouldn’t that depend on the religion of the vampire? Harry Turtledove used that point in a minor incident in _The Case Of The Toxic Spell Dump._ (book) ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/159 "2015-03-03T16:57:11Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > ??? During his trial, he refrains from declaring his faith in response to direct questioning. Lies of omission are still lies. Of course, we can point out persecution and the threat of death, except that those things were in the plan - not revealing his faith wasn’t in order to avoid those things. Accepting that, by **adaher** ’s words - “anyone who hides their true beliefs for personal ambition doesn’t really have true beliefs to hide” - I think Jesus fails on that point. Peter’s the more immediately obvious of the two, I grant. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615/160 "2015-03-03T17:03:23Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Wouldn’t that depend on the religion of the vampire? > > Harry Turtledove used that point in a minor incident in _The Case Of The Toxic Spell Dump._ (book) Roman Polanski, as well. “Oy, have YOU got de wrong vampire!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/54-of-republicans-say-that-deep-down-obama-is-a-muslim/713615.md?page=9)