No Obama Is Not a Muslim, But Radical Jihadists Are

Kevin McCullough
Sunday, August 22, 2010

For all of the public polling that made news this week, the idea that one in five people think that President Obama is an active, albeit perhaps closeted, Muslim is one of pretty far-fetched ridiculousness. However it is one of the less ridiculous viewpoints that could be forwarded in the public debate these days. And one that is ultimately distracting thoughtful Americans from the larger truth about Islam.

Simply put Muslims number close to 1 billion and nearly 2 million muslims on the planet wish to kill those who refuse to convert... like me.

No Mr. President, these are not merely people that have taken a "good world religion" and "hi-jacked it" or "perverted it." To say as much is to be even more dishonest than all the ninnies running around claiming that you have some secret wardrobe in the people's house where you choose to bow the knee to Mecca or Medina.

Rather they are 2 million faithful who seek reward for the strictest adherence to the most resolute of all beliefs.

Sure President Obama, you've given the average conspiracist more than enough reasons to question whether you might have pro-Islamic leanings. Starting from the stupid secrecy you've insisted upon surrounding your own birth certificate with, to the Islamic schooling you received as a boy, to your refusal to practice the Christianity you claim to hold dear, to your unsolicited comments last week directly endorsing the specific effort of pro-Hamas forces who wish to build a Mosque at Ground Zero, yes you've certainly done your part.

But you and I both know that none of those things on their face add up to you adopting the Islamic faith as your belief. But likewise the honesty and integrity that should be the test when it comes to your own expression of faith should be applied equally to those who do practice the form of Islam that sought to kill thousands of Americans on 9.11.2001.

The fact that your own lexicon at the White House has eliminated words like "terrorist, extremist, jihadist, islamic fundamentalist," etc. doesn't mean that the terms and definitions do not accurately and appropriately fit.

You've made the biggest mistake that Islamic radicals wish you would. Simply put, they desire you to ignore their presence, pretend to say that real Muslims do not practice such horrific behaviors and thus give them a shade more cover to plan their next move.

But the numbers are irrefutable Mr. President, and you should for the sake of your own reputation and the welfare of the nation you work for, sit down with people like Ergun and Emir Caner; brothers who were trained by a devout Muslim father to learn and observe all three traditions of Islam, Sunni, Shia, and Wahhabi. And while Wahhabi is the smallest sect of Islamic practice, it is thoroughly Muslim regardless of your constant classification of it as in some way a "hi-jacking" or "perversion" of Islam.

Wahhabists view themselves as reformers. Similar to the reformers of the Christian reformation the Wahhabi see themselves as getting Islam back to its original roots, original intent, and original meaning. They are by every definition possible fundamentalists in that they see their interpretation as more strictly beholding to the intentions of Allah. They hold their scriptures with higher authority than the other sects and they believe in a worldwide demand to convert the masses or to see them executed.

Continuing to say that these beliefs are not the true beliefs of Islam is akin to saying that the authority of the Bible is not key to the understanding of the most serious core believers of Christianity.

Likewise as Christians move away from the authority of the Bible, both in Catholic and Evangelical circles the less "Christian" they become by definition. Similarly as the Sunni and Shia have moved away from the strictest understandings of the Qur'an and Hadith they are seen by the Wahhabi as less "Islamic."

If anything Mr. President your own National Security team should be taught that Wahhabi are "more" Islamic by nature and that the more Islamic one is, naturally the more radical his beliefs will be as well.

The problem is Mr. President you wish to have it both ways. You wish to say that Islam is peaceful and good, but that you prefer Christianity for yourself.

But by the definition of what constitutes Christianity in its deepest sense you can not do so and faithfully call yourself a Christian.

Jesus Christ didn't call himself "a light, a truth, or a way." He said He was "THE" way.

Yes Jesus claimed exclusivity but he did not tell his followers to go lop off the heads of those who disagreed, in fact he taught them the opposite to feed, clothe, and love those in need.

It is not possible for a Christian to acknowledge Islam as a pathway to truth, for the two worldviews are exclusive to themselves and can not both be seen as authoritative.

Sadly now, in your attempt to have it both ways you have caused people to judge you with suspicion you do not wish, and you have subverted an important truth that is vital to the safety of us all.

No Mr. President I don't believe your a Muslim, but I KNOW the men who killed my friends on 9/11 were, and there are 2 million others who believe, and live as those did.

Not telling the American people the truth does not change these facts.