False Obama Muslim Rumor Spread Quickly And Widely Throughout The Internet

The false rumor that Barack Obama is a Muslim spread quickly and widely throughout the internet. Obama has launched a website, FightTheSmears.com, to help combat this falsehood, along with others that crop up on the internet. The Washington Post today has an extensive article detailing how the rumor first appeared. An Obama supporter and scholar, Danielle Allen, received an email calling Obama a Muslim, and having met the Senator while working as a dean at the University of Chicago, and knowing the claim to be baseless, she was determined to discover how it started and how one could stop it.

The e-mail landed in Danielle Allen's queue one winter morning as she was studying in her office at the Institute for Advanced Study, the renowned haven for some of the nation's most brilliant minds. The missive began: "THIS DEFINITELY WARRANTS LOOKING INTO."

Laid out before Allen, a razor-sharp, 36-year-old political theorist, was what purported to be a biographical sketch of Barack Obama that has become one of the most effective -- and baseless -- Internet attacks of the 2008 presidential season. The anonymous chain e-mail makes the false claim that Obama is concealing a radical Islamic background. By the time it reached Allen on Jan. 11, 2008, it had spread with viral efficiency for more than a year...

...As an Obama supporter -- she had met the senator while she worked as a dean at the University of Chicago -- it made her angry. And curious.

"I started thinking, 'How does one stop it?' "

The man Allen found who takes credit for the first posting of an article falsely asserting Obama is a Muslim is a man named Andy Martin.

Martin, a former political opponent of Obama's, is the publisher of an Internet newspaper who sends e-mails to his mailing list almost daily. He said in an interview that he first began questioning Obama's religious background after hearing his famous keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. In an Aug. 10, 2004, article, which he posted on Web sites and e-mailed to bloggers, he said that Obama had concealed his Muslim heritage. "I feel sad having to expose Barack Obama," Martin wrote in an accompanying press release, "but the man is a complete fraud. The truth is going to surprise, and disappoint, and outrage many people who were drawn to him. He has lied to the American people, and he has sought to misrepresent his own heritage." Martin's article did not suggest an association between Obama and radical Islam.

Martin was trying to launch a Senate bid against Obama when he says he first ran the Democrat's name by a contact in London. "They said he must be a Muslim. That was interesting to me because it was an angle that nobody had covered. We started looking. As a candidate you learn how to harness the Internet. You end up really learning how to work the street. I sort of picked this story up as a sideline." Martin said the primary basis for his belief was simple -- Obama's father was a Muslim. In a defamation lawsuit he filed against the New York Times and others several months ago, Martin says that Obama "eventually became a Christian" but that "as a matter of Islamic law began life as a Muslim" due to his father's religion.

Read the full report from the Washington Post.

Comments

[vonny]

I'd say it's because his father is a muslim and all his relatives in Kenya are muslim.

Obama said in his book that if things got bad he would side with the Muslims.

[BigBen]

He has changed his position on so many other issues in the last week it does not matter what he says about his faith. Rev Wright said it all "he is just another politician"

[Annette]

But he hasn't changed his positions as much , or as frequently as McCain.

Look we know you are supposedly a Clinton supporter, however I suspect you are just a McCain troll. Even the Clintons, who you supposedly supported are supporting Obama. If you still want to pass on lies about him the only logical reason is that you want him to lose, thus you want mr flip flop to win. McCain Troll.

[CaptainVideo]

And reverend Wright is just another demagogue dividing Americans against each other on the basis of race.

[RealityBaseCamp]

vonny speculated:

"I'd say it's because his father is a muslim and all his relatives in Kenya are muslim.
Obama said in his book that if things got bad he would side with the Muslims."

That's huge! What is that quote exactly, the full passage, in context? You must have it handy since you're so confident that it's true.

Oh, wait! I found it! http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/ownwords.asp

It's my favorite game, "what part is the lie?" This time, it's the fact that he mentioned Arab and Pakistani AMERICANS, and not Muslims, and he said "..should the political winds shift in an ugly direction," specifically referring to guilt-by-a­ssociation situations like Japanese-American internment. I, for one, hope Hillary feels the same way. I know she agrees that smear emails are evil. I'll leave it to someone else to see if "his father and all his African relatives are Muslim." By the way, do you have reason to believe all Muslims are evil or something? Oh, and does this mean you don't believe his former United Church of Christ minister influenced all his thinking?

[trubluelefty]

Huh? I read the book once and listened to it and I never read nor heard him say that if things 'got bad' he would side with the Muslim's. Now just what does that mean Vonny?

[Annette]

Silly. He didn't even meet his fathers side of his family till he was in his mid 20s.

By the way I have both of his books and I can't find your assertation. Cite the page.

Sounds to me like either you heard it from someone who heard it from some one or you are just making things up. Possibly just a McCain troll.

[Ramirez]

After his mother remarried, he moved to Indonesia with his mom and his Muslim stepfather. He met his stepfather's side of the family.

[AdobePhsyko]

Once more,The Repuke Smear Machine wants to have it both ways.
Let's just assume,for a minute that Obama IS a Muslim. George Bush told us on TV that we should respect our Muslim brothers and sisters and not lump them in with terrorists. So why is being a Muslim such a bad thing ?
Then, They called him out because of sermons by his Christian minister and supposed mentor of 20 years. Which is it ? Are Muslims bad or are Christians bad ?
Wasn't Our Country founded on the principle of religious tolerance and the right to practice Any Religion or No Religion at all ?
I ,Personally think that Religion will Destroy Humanity.

[BigBen]

Is he for the death penalty or not? Is he for gun control or not?Is he for FISA or not?Is he a Muslim or not?Who knows?

[Annette]

McCain Troll.

[forpeace]

*

AdobePhsyko
............I ,Personally think that Religion will Destroy Humanity.
===============

Amen!

*

[FilthyPerson]

It could be this contributed to it also ...

http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12918.htm

[youcannotbeserious]

Moammar Qhadafi thinks Obama is Muslim, apostasy and all, you know. And well duh, uh, his middle name is what? Jones or Smith?
no, its Hussein as in the one that was demonized 24/7 by the Bush admin.It doesn't take a low info voter to make the connection because its what was drummed into the nation's collective psyche since Bush blamed Saddam Hussein for 9/11.
The country hasn't forgotten and Obama reminds them each time they see him.

The comments here blaming it on emails and low info is in it of itself speaks to how Obama has the huge mountain of a job to turn that mindset around.

Besides

[going2ireland]

So, what do you suggest O do? Change his middle name to suit others?

[CaptainVideo]

The late King Hussein of Jordan was, at the time of his death, a valuable major ally of the United States in the middle east.

[Trittydi]

Personally I don't care what faith the man is -- and I'm sorry it matters to anyone else either.

I do know that he deliberately smear has a target audience - those who are idiots and ignorant basically - and I think his counter-smear efforts can't hurt. It's certainly better than doing nothing.
*

[Chillinout]

Kerry did nothing against the smears, and see where that got him?

Yes O'bama needs to fight these smears aggressively.

[KBAR]

Here's what Barry's new 'best bud' had to say :
STEVE KROFT: You don't believe that Senator Obama's a Muslim?

HILLARY CLINTON: Of course not. I mean that's, you know, that, there is no basis for that. You know, I take him on the basis of what he says, and, you know, there isn't any reason to doubt that.

KROFT: You said you take Sen. Obama at his word that he's not a Muslim...

CLINTON: Right, right..

KROFT: …you don't believe that he's a Muslim.

CLINTON: No! No! Why would I? There's nothing to base that on. As far as I know.

"As far as I know' she maybe his new V P frontrunner.

[going2ireland]

You can try and stir the pot all you want, but coming here to try it just won't work. O supporters are steadfast in our belief in him. Sorry to pop your balloon.

[CaptainVideo]

There is no evidence that Hillary was Barry Goldwater's best bud.

[truthynesslover]

Obamas dad also used to go drinking with then fellow student, Sen,abercrombie ,Not a vey good muslim!

[benedict15]

Abercrombie (D Illinois), is a mere Representative -- not a senator. He led the Obama effort out here. He earned a Ph.D. at U of I while demonstrating against the VN war. I am sure he would accept a draft if, suddenly, a seat would open up. Our governor, a Republican, would have to pick a Democrat off a short list furnished by the Party. She would not pick Neil, but some ersatz Democrat from the Stephen Douglas wing of the Party.

[jimboster]

Is this a parody? I mean, how do you get a job like this? What's her title- Vexing Universal Problems Wrestler? Will that fit on a standard business card? What's kinda interesting, Ms. Allen works for this prestigious group at Harvard, has two doctorates and won a $500,000 "genius" award and the author still feels obligated to tell us she's "razor-sharp". Gee, why didn't he just say articulate?

[SanityClaus]

And your academic credential are...?

I hope you actually read the article and listened to the audio interview with Dr. Allen.

[GonzoFactor]

A tiresomely large percentage of conservatives are suckers for propaganda by other conservatives, in great part because their fear of liberalism makes them automatically believe all negative things said about anyone they don't like. The sad thing is that few conservatives believe that they are lied to deliberately and with malice aforethought by other conservatives. They believe that only liberals lie to get what they want.

And these suckers have the same vote as people who actually try to find out the truth about what they see and hear.

[Chillinout]

This is the one of the "bad sides" of the Internet. Baseless rumors can be spread around the world at the speed of light.

[lovethesinner]

The idea that there is anything wrong with a candidate being Muslim is what's so sad about all this. In discussing the erroneousness of the claims, it's never mentioned that Muslims have every right to expect all the same opportunities of U.S. citizenship.

The fact is, we are going to have to get past our ignorance of Muslims, just like we've had to get past all our other fear based prejudices to become a (somewhat) free society.

Although he was referring to something else when he said it, this is what FDR meant when he said we have nothing to fear but fear itself.

Machiavelli's minions will always be with us. With vigilance, we can always call them out for what they are: fear mongers and enemies of the Constitution.

[CaptainVideo]

"anything wrong with a candidate being Muslim "

The problem is that while not all Muslims are suicide bombers, all suicide bombers are Muslims. That makes Muslims suspect in the eyes of a large part of the American public.

The Muslims who are angry and upset about all being viewed as potential suicide bombers need to be angry at those of their fellow Muslims who are or who approve of such actions. They are the ones who are ruining things for the rest of them.

[parisblues]

An article in today's NY Times entitled "Your Brain Lies to You" explains that Obama's actually doing really well, considering the general lack of intelligence among human beings:

"Eighteen percent of Americans think the sun revolves around the earth, one poll has found. Thus it seems slightly less egregious that, according to another poll, 10 percent of us think that Senator Barack Obama, a Christian, is instead a Muslim."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/opinion/27aamodt.html

[CaptainVideo]

It would be interesting to do a survey of how many people believe that the world is flat.

The ignorance among many low information voters is appalling. That is whey they are so easily conned. Unfortuately there are enough of them to determine the outcome of elections.

[MaeScott]

While checking my church's fax on Sunday, I found one of those evil rumor mongereing faxes. My church is predominantly black. I threw it away, but I wondered how many other churches that mess had been sent that filth.

[SanityClaus]

Next time note the originating fax number so you can report them for junk-faxing.

[nhunter]

A lie can make it half way around the world before the truth has time to put its boots on.

Mark Twain (or maybe Winston Churchill)

[nyboomer]

" "as a matter of Islamic law began life as a Muslim" due to his father's religion.""

Since when does American give a damn about Islamic law? How many Americans are ever heard to say, "you should not do that, it is contrary to Islamic law?"

Considering that christians are often trying to convert people to christianity, how often do worry about which religion the new convert was before they took him in.

Hypocricy is an essential building block of American politics. Ooops I meant of conservative American politics. I have yet to hear a conservative operative speak who was not a hypocrite. Conservative have so little intellectual ammunition at hand that hypocracy and personal smears are indsipensible to them.

[BigBen]

Plenty will heart it if he becomes President.

[Annette]

McCain Troll !!

I don't care what religion the man is, I don't care what he worships, I care about his positions. Some I agree with some I don' t But he and any democrat is miles better than McCain. I can't think of anything McCain supports that I am for. Certainly not divorcing the firstwife because she didn't have the money to finance his political ambition, his flip flopping, his utter lack of any moral compass. His vote against women getting equal pay. His vehement objection to the GI's getting educational benifits till it passed now he has flipped on that too.

By the way heart is a noun not a verb. I would suggest you go back to school and take a remedial english course.