# Why would Obama make such a preposterous claim? \[US one of the largest Muslim countries\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 3, 2009, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567 "2009-06-03T12:55:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/101 "2009-06-04T02:22:36Z")
I think I’ve got to the root of the problem. I just watched an interview Obama gave to the BBC just before that France comment. He said the same thing but in a more careful way in response to a question. The relevant exchange went like this (verbatim): Obama: This was an opportunity for us to get both sides to listen to each other a little bit more and hopefully learn something about different cultures. Interviewer: You say both sides so I take from that that muslims listening to this speech - you are hoping will also be changed by it, their attitudes will also change. What needs to change on behalf of those you’re actually speaking to? Obama: Well, let’s just take one small example, the US muslim population is more numerous than the populations of many majority muslim countries. So we have a huge and thriving muslim American community… He’s probably using the same spiel for this whole tour so he probably meant to say something like that but maybe got the order of the words mixed up. It’s tricky to say out loud, or at least I found it tricky when I tried. I could imagine you getting the form of words wrong if under pressure and in a hurry. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/102 "2009-06-04T02:30:59Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > I’ll go ahead and get the next outrage started. > > Evidently, when Hopey McChange was talking with King Abdullah this morning, the King congratulated him on his election victory. > > Now here is where I become “concerned”, Nobama then said “Shukran” Which is Muslim for Thank You. > > I weep for our future as a country when our President has to lower himself to speak another countries language. > > How did I do? did I get the tone right? I’m new at this, so any suggestions will be appreciated. Not bad. Now when Obama visits a Spanish-speaking country and says “gracias”, you should accuse him of speaking “illegal-alien”. That line kills at the Club for Growth luncheons. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/103 "2009-06-04T03:37:29Z")
> [@](#): > > This is utterly stupid manufactured outrage. Is this all that is left from the right? Shrill histrionics based on anything they can maybe pretend to be upset about. No, the conservative pundits know these charges won’t stick. But they serve a larger purpose. A year from now, most people will have forgotten the details and they’ll just have a vague memory that Obama was accused of lying about something. Just keep repeating the process often enough and eventually Obama will have a reputation for telling lies. If you throw enough smoke bombs, you’ll eventually get some people to believe there must be a fire somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Kiber](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiber/32/317_2.png) [@Kiber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiber)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/104 "2009-06-04T11:33:42Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > What did you expect? Obama could spend an hour of his next televised speech running kittens through a sausage grinder on live TV, and the usual suspects would be here defending it. The Dope never changes. Well - I for one would like to make a firm, unequivocal stand AGAINST kitten sausage. And should rumors of Mr. Obama making such ever arise, I hope this post will serve as a reminder of my steadfast position against. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/105 "2009-06-06T01:00:40Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > What did you expect? Obama could spend an hour of his next televised speech running kittens through a sausage grinder on live TV, and the usual suspects would be here defending it. The Dope never changes. No no no, they would be here to say that he wasn’t _running_ them through the sausage grinder, but encouraging them, or inspiring them through it. Running them through implies that he was quickly forcing them through, but you can see from the video that he was offering them a gentle push in the proper direction. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/106 "2009-06-06T01:07:54Z")
Actually, it would turn out that the Republicans already ate all the kittens or turned them into fetish underwear, so Obama is left sitting forlornly by a kitten grinder with no kittens to grind. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/107 "2009-06-06T01:17:53Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > The problem is, you are not judging Obama, or how he governs. You and your ilk are going complete and utter apeshit over whether or not he has bowed to a visiting royal, took his wife to a broadway show, or spoke a word of thanks in a foriegn language. > > You need persective. Read a book, plant a garden, go for a walk. > > On the off chance that President Obama really REALLY screws up, no one is going to listen to the right after trying so hard to manufacture scandal. > > Not to mention that W WAS a terrible President. I won’t rehash the litanny of issues I have with him, but the fact remains, he is one of the worst presidents our country has seen in the modern era, and he was yours. Life sucks. Wear a helmet. Just thought I’d let you know that I hated W as President and was an ardent Obama supporter in the election. Not that it matters, because your rant makes no sense that way. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/108 "2009-06-06T01:19:25Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Since the office of POTUS is so one-of-a-kind, I would say that, on the contrary, we _cannot_ actually make an informed judgment about his performance without at least considering the performance of recent office-holders who have been faced with a similar set of political circumstances. > > But I’ll give you this: saying he’s better than Bush is not saying a whole hell of a lot. Yeah exactly. It’s sort of like saying your dumbass kid is a genius because he’s smarter than the kid with the helmet. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/109 "2009-06-06T01:21:25Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Once again, depends on how you define “largest” - we are definitely in the upper half of countries in the world by a numerical count of our Muslim population. That definitely means we are not among the smallest. > > It would probably be more accurate to say “in terms of Muslim population, we have greater than the mean number against all world countries,” but that is poor rhetoric. Yes compared to the 100 or so countries with next to no Muslims we have a large Muslim population. If you were to remove the countries with 100,000 Muslims or less we’d be toward the bottom though. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/110 "2009-06-06T04:54:17Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Actually, it would turn out that the Republicans already ate all the kittens or turned them into fetish underwear, so Obama is left sitting forlornly by a kitten grinder with no kittens to grind. Don’t be ridiculous. Everyone knows that Republicans eat (human) **babies** , not kittens. Next you’ll be telling me the video of Cheney roasting a baby at a state dinner in 2004 was a fake. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/111 "2009-06-06T06:42:05Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Don’t be ridiculous. Everyone knows that Republicans eat (human) **babies** , not kittens. Next you’ll be telling me the video of Cheney roasting a baby at a state dinner in 2004 was a fake. As the average Republican age grows, they need more fiber; so, kittens serve as supplements. If babies were hairier that wouldn’t be necessary. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/112 "2009-06-06T16:45:55Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > As the average Republican age grows, they need more fiber; so, kittens serve as supplements. If babies were hairier that wouldn’t be necessary. Oh-oh – the Republican supplement supplier has run into difficulties; the last shipment of raw material [was defective!](http://www.amuralientresorcattery.com/images/Bibble.jpg) Perhaps that’s why they’ve been so anemic recently. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/113 "2009-06-08T00:26:33Z")
I still remember the Socrates-Plato level of arguing over the pronunciation of “nuclear”, compared to that Obama’s comment would require a lvel of debate like if he’d throwing chorizos in Mecca while squirting evryone with lard. Still, too much over nothing, it was an unimportant remark that one would hope somebody advises him not to use. ---
**Author:** ![Abe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f1d935/32.png) [@Abe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/114 "2009-06-09T09:08:32Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > Evidently, when Hopey McChange was talking with King Abdullah this morning, the King congratulated him on his election victory. > > Now here is where I become “concerned”, Nobama then said “Shukran” Which is Muslim for Thank You. > > I weep for our future as a country when our President has to lower himself to speak another countries language. Since you cannot seem to distinguish between a major language and a world religion, you would be well advised to find other items closer to home for your inconsequential exercises of “concern”. Shukran is simply Arabic for “thanks”. Obama is not lowering himself at all by speaking a few words in Arabic any more than you would lower yourself by saying “grazie” in Italy or “danke” in Germany. Saying a few phrases in the local tongue is usually an excellent move to make a good impression and win over a local audience - which, try to remember, is what Obama is there for. If he gets it right he impresses people, if he gets it wrong they may laugh at him but will still think well of him for making the effort. Win-win. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/115 "2009-06-09T09:41:33Z")
whoooosh ETA : or, you know, maybe I’m the one whooshed. Could go either way. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/116 "2009-06-09T09:49:36Z")
He might have meant “We have the potential to become one of the biggest Muslim countries”? ---
**Author:** ![Abe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f1d935/32.png) [@Abe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/117 "2009-06-09T10:46:28Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > whoooosh > > ETA : or, you know, maybe I’m the one whooshed. Could go either way. No, I think I might be. I skimmed the whole thread and missed what I suspect is irony in yanceylebeef’s post. Problem is that it sounded so similar to a (serious) claim I encountered minutes earlier on Yahoo that I took it seriously. Sorry! ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/118 "2009-06-09T14:37:33Z")
> [@Abe](#): > > No, I think I might be. I skimmed the whole thread and missed what I suspect is irony in yanceylebeef’s post. Problem is that it sounded so similar to a (serious) claim I encountered minutes earlier on Yahoo that I took it seriously. Sorry! Heh. Mission Accomplished. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/119 "2009-06-11T02:29:26Z")
**TubaDiva** can enable the automatic **yanceylebeef** irony detector for you if you ask nicely. It took me a while to get used to the pop up cow with the rolling eyes, but the sound effects are…uh…high tech. Oh wait. She said no more requests for this option. Not that this will save Obama from being consigned to hell for his wording, but I’ve mentioned my wonderful multi-cultural neighborhood before. As I was doing a search for information about Nashville’s Kurdish populations, I found that there are more Kurds in my neighborhood (literally) than there are in all of Canada! My neighborhood had 12,000 Kurds as of 2007 compared to Canada’s 10,000. [Cite](http://nashvillekurds.com/history.html) [Cite](http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2005/1/vote127.htm) Excerpt: (Try to overlook the seemingly obligatory reference to Naomi and _Hee Haw_.) > [@](#): > > NASHVILLE - Six miles south of the Country Music Hall of Fame - home to artifacts like Naomi Judd’s wringer washing machine and the cornfield from TV’s Hee Haw - there’s a strip mall that shows a newer Nashville. > > Its tenants represent a world atlas of ethnic groups: an Indian and Pakistani grocery, a Mexican butcher, a Nigerian restaurant, a Chinese market. > > Next door is practically a small Iraqi village: a warehouse turned Muslim mosque and two grocery stores, one run by an Iraqi Kurd, the other by an Iraqi Arab. On Fridays, after afternoon prayers, as many as 600 people mingle within a tiny block. > > “I moved here from Arizona to open a business because I knew there were a lot of Kurds,” said Nick Aref, 27, who fled Kurdish northern Iraq eight years ago and owns a bakery next to the mosque. > > Indeed, “Music City” is better known in this part of town as Little Kurdistan, **home to the nation’s largest Kurdish population** , estimated at about 7,000.[Article dated 2005] My husband and I made it a point to go to a small restaurant in the block on 9-12-01. Just showing up. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567/120 "2009-06-11T13:15:23Z")
I think I’ve finally figured it out! America doesnt have a large number of Muslims percentage wise, but as an absolute number its pretty decent America has an obesity problem. American Muslims are generally pretty plump. Muslims in other countries? Not so much. Americans on average are pretty well off financially. So are our Muslims. In other countries, no so much, and in some cases not at all. America is BIG. Throw in Alaska and the area of our continental shelf along our shores underwater and it gets REALLY big. So if you multiply all those, I bet America really ranks up there. Measured in units of muslim pound dollars square feet America looks pretty damn good I imagine. It might even make the number one spot. I leave the actual calculations to the reader. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-obama-make-such-a-preposterous-claim-us-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/498567.md?page=7)