Growing number in America believe Obama a Muslim - poll

A growing number of Americans incorrectly believe President Barack Obama is a Muslim, research suggests.

Some 18% said the president was a Muslim, up from 11% in March 2009, according to the Pew Research survey of 3,003 Americans.

Among Republicans, that number was 34%. Just a third of those quizzed correctly identified Mr Obama as Christian.

Polling was done before 13 August when Mr Obama defended Muslims' right to build an Islamic centre by Ground Zero.

Forty-three per cent of those questioned said they did not know what Mr Obama's religion was.
'Spreading falsehoods'

The White House attributed the mistaken beliefs about Mr Obama's religion to a "misinformation campaign" pursued by his political opponents.

"While the president has been diligent and personally committed to his own Christian faith, there's certainly folks who are intent on spreading falsehoods about the president and his values and beliefs," White House faith adviser Joshua DuBois told AFP news agency.

The poll found beliefs about the president's faith were closely linked to political judgments about him.

It found that people who believe Mr Obama is a Muslim "overwhelmingly disapprove" of his job performance, while a majority of those who identify him as a Christian approve.

News of the poll comes amid fears by some US Muslims that they will be targeted due to the fact that the holiday of Eid falls on 11 September this year, the anniversary of the terror attacks of 2001.

Some are concerned that the joyous festivals that mark the occasion will be misconstrued as celebrations of the attacks.

Meanwhile a national debate continues over a developer's plans to build a mosque and community centre two blocks away from Ground Zero in New York.

The plans have provoked vehement opposition from many conservatives, though Mr Obama, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the chairman of the US Democratic party and others have defended the developers' right to build there.

Many Americans say Obama is Muslim

One-fifth of Americans have said they believe Barack Obama, the US president, is a Muslim, according to a new opinion poll.

Time poll, published on Thursday, also suggested that almost a third of Americans said Muslims should be barred from running for president or serving on the US Supreme Court.

Bill Burton, the White House deputy press secretary, said hours after the poll was published "the president is obviously a Christian. He prays everyday".

Americans care more about the economy and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and "are not reading a lot of news about what religion the president is", he added.

Another poll conducted by Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that 18 per cent of Americans said that Obama is a Muslim.

Pew poll results are based on interviews conducted before the controversy over whether Muslims should be permitted to construct a centre near the World Trade Center site in New York.

Obama affirmed last week the right to build the centre on religious freedom groundsbut, saying he will not take a stand on the "wisdom" of doing so.

Time conducted its survey afterwards.

Muslim centre controversy

Time poll showed that 61 per cent of Americans opposed building the centre near the Trade Center site, where the September 11 attacks took place, while 26 per cent said they favour it.

The Pew study noted the overall number of those saying Obama is a Muslim had spiked from 11 per cent in March 2009 but that the view "is more widespread among his political opponents than among his backers".

Still, "even among many of his supporters and allies, less than half now say Obama is a Christian. Among Democrats, for instance, 46 per cent say Obama is a Christian, down from 55 per cent in March 2009", Pew said.

Some believe that, with congressional elections just over two months away, the polls may represent bad news for the Democratic party.

Pew analysts attribute the findings to attacks by Obama's opponents and Obama's limited attendance at religious services, particularly in contrast with Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, whose worship was more public.

Andrew Kohut, Pew Forum's director, said the confusion partly reflects "the intensification of negative views about Obama among his critics".

'24-hour noise box'

Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell of Houston told the Associated Press news agency he knew Obama for years and said the president is a Christian who prays every day.

He called false media reports about it "a 24-hour noise box committed to presenting the president in a false light."

Six in 10 of those saying Obama is a Muslim said they got the information from the media, with the largest portion, 16 per cent, saying it was on television.

Eleven per cent said they learned it from Obama's behaviour and words.

A long, hot Ramadan for many devout Muslims

Muslims awaited the sighting of the crescent moon on Tuesday to begin fasting during an especially gruelling month of Ramadan, with its sweltering heat and extremely long daylight hours.

Muslims observe the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar by abstaining from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset during Ramadan.

It was expected to start on Wednesday throughout much of the world or a day later, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon the night before.

Pregnant and menstruating women, the sick, travellers and prepubescent children are exempt from the fast, which is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Ramadan will begin amid scorching temperatures in the Middle East and elsewhere, with the first six months of 2010 being the warmest ever recorded.

Egypt, the largest Arab country whose 80 million population is mostly Muslim, will switch to winter time for the month.

Rival Palestinian governments in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip said Tuesday they would switch to winter time on the first day of fasting.

Palestinians on both territories, divided since the Islamist Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007 after driving out the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, said they will move clocks back one hour.

In Dubai, a cleric told workmen they are religiously allowed to break their fast if the heat got the better of them.

Most fasting Muslims go about their business as usual, if skimping an hour or two from work. Sleeping well into the day, although not technically a fast breaker, is considering cheating by some clerics.

Pieties increase, with additional optional prayers in the evening. Often, so does the evening and night-time revelry for those able to peel themselves away from the special Ramadan television series in the evenings.

The month is marked by family visits and invitations to sumptuous iftars -- the meal that breaks the fast.

Festivities can last into the early morning, to the consternation of traditional clerics who stress the ascetic nature of the month, in which Muslims believe God revealed the Quran to the Prophet Mohammed.

Egypt, which depends on tourism, is offering rich Arab holidaymakers fireworks, concerts, folkloric shows and displays by whirling dervishes.

But given the family-centred traditions of the month, enticing people to leave their countries is a tough sell.

Egypt's bars and pubs either close during the month or switch to abstemious menus, with the exception of hotel bars, which serve alcohol only to non-Egyptians to conform with the Islamic ban on alcohol.

Dubai, one of the most popular Middle East cities for party-goers, closes its nightclubs or bans dancing in them.

Consumption of alcohol in the United Arab Emirates is officially allowed only for non-Muslims. But in practice, anyone can drink at licensed hotels and clubs. During Ramadan, hotels close off their bars from public view.

"There are tourists and non-Muslims in the country and they can go to closed bars in which they can be served alcohol" during Ramadan, director of Dubai government's inspection and tourism permit section, Mohammed Khalifa, told AFP.

"It is not permitted to hold entertainment activities, celebrations, or parties at any time throughout the holy month of Ramadan," the government said in an August 2 circular.

Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, will take the opportunity to crack down on Internet pornography.

Quoting a poem at a press conference on Tuesday, Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring called on Muslims to "keep hearts clean in the holy month," and said that he would target websites and media that carried sexual content.

Despite the fasting, some clerics complain that people end up piling on the pounds during the month, as they over-indulge to compensate for the fasting. The consumption contributes to price hikes.

In Mauritania, the government announced "urgent measures" against the increase.

The global rise in food prices, coupled with the Ramadan spike, also means that less can afford a traditional theme of the month -- charity.

Long iftar tables set with free stews and bread that were commonplace in Cairo have been noticeably decreasing over the past two years, with many hosts saying they can't afford it anymore.
Source: AFP

Ramadan takes a toll on Gulf region business community

The Islamic holiday comes in summer this year, making fast days longer and hotter than usual.

As devoted Muslims across the Middle East and North Africa begin the celebration of the holy month of Ramadan, they will be fasting from sunrise till sundown as an essential part of the holiday. As a result, business hours in the region have been affected.

Because Ramadan this year is in the summer we are breaking the fast much later, Sultan Al Qassemi, a businessman based in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, told The Media Line.

The date that Ramadan falls on shifts 12-13 days back every year since it is decided according to the lunar or Gregorian calendar used in the Islamic world. This means Ramadan started 12 days earlier this year than in 2009.

The exact date, however, is decided by religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, according to the appearance of the moon. Since Ramadan falls in the summer this year, the days of fasting will be longer and harder, with temperatures soaring close to 44 degrees Celsius (112 F) in the Middle East and North Africa.

Business people used to meet after the fast, which used to be around 6 p.m., but because Ramadan is in the summer this is major shift and it might be harder for people to meet after 9:00 (or) 9:30 p.m., he said.

We will see how business people will deal with this, Al Qassemi added.

Breaking the Ramadan fast is done after the sun has set in the evening during the Iftar meal. Then people gather at restaurants and private homes for communal meals, which over the last couple years has turned into networking opportunities, where new contacts and future deals are discussed.

Iftar meals are also high season for a number of industries across the region, from catering firms, hotels and restaurants, to tent renting companies.

A Saudi businessman who did not want to be named told The Media Line that some people have become lazy during Ramadan.

Actually, Ramadan people are supposed to work normal hours and are supposed to fell the abstinence [by fasting], he said.

Unfortunately, many people, especially in the Gulf, take this[as] an excuse for not working at all, he told The Media Line.

Aviation expert Benjamin Walther told The Media Line that Ramadan is a busy time for the regionâs airlines and they are taking advantage of it.

Especially in the weeks before Ramadan, traffic is rising rapidly as a lot of people want to go to Saudi Arabia to celebrate Ramadan, he said.

Therefore, it is very hard to find flights to Saudi Arabia, doesn't matter which airline you want to choose, Walther told The Media Line. All flights to Saudi Arabia, even on Lufthansa, BA [British Airways], are fully booked and therefore prices are very high.

All together I can say that traffic and prices [have] gone up extremely during the last weeks and it is a really big business for all carriers flying to the Middle East, Walther said.

Anyway, as Ramadan has started today, prices [are] expected to go back to normal during the next days [and] weeks and will afterwards increase again when Hajj [pilgrimage] starts shortly after Ramadan, he predicted.

Bonfire of the vanities or of the sacred?

By Dallas Darling

Even now as several churches across the United States plan to burn copies of the Quran, Islam's holy book, it is reminiscent of the Bonfire of the Vanities that spread throughout Italy and Europe in 1497. Plagues, poor harvests and social and political strife escalated fear, distrust, intolerance and religious fanaticism.

Some Christians assumed the unfolding chaos surrounding them was God's wrath and punishment for their selfish and immoral behavior. They gathered what was thought to be vain objects, like secular books, works of art, mirrors, jewelry, combs and playing cards (sometimes even people), to be burned.

A half of millennium later and as the Sept. 11, 2001 commemoration draws near, several churches are preparing to ignite bonfires to burn Qurans. Known as "International Burn A Quran Day," church leaders and members want to send a strong message to Americans and the rest of the world that Islam is a violent and oppressive religion. Along with being responsible for the attacks on Sept. 11, they also claim Islam is a religion of the Devil and is causing billions of people to go to hell. They are fearful that Islamic governments and Muslims want to take-over and dominate the world, including the United States.

It is unfortunate that such thinking negates the numerous achievements of the Quran and Islam. The Quran states, "O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female and made you into Nations and tribes, that ye may know each other, not that you may despise each other." (Surah 49:13) Not only has the Quran provided hope, meaning and guidance for billions people, but it still offers a universal message of understanding and peace. Islamic cultures have been responsible for some of the greatest advancements in medicines, astronomy, health, literature, philosophy and math.

Some Islamic civilizations also uphold enlightenment ideas. While honoring the sanctity of life and justice: "...take no life, which Allah has made sacred, except by way of justice and law," the Quran encourages goodness and forbids killing: "Slaying an innocent individual is like slaying the whole people." (Surah 6:51/5:32) Regarding rights, the Quran secured freedom of conscience and worship where at one time they did not exist. "Whoever does right, whether male or female, and is a believer,...will enter the Garden," has guaranteed women the right to property, education, and to participate in public and political life.

The Quran also prohibited the killing of daughters and specifically ensured the protection of orphans and widows. In some Islamic cultures, everyone enjoys equal protection under the law. The Prophet Muhammad, who began his message with the words, "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,..." established religious toleration by working with and recognizing other faiths. When he entered Mecca everyone was spared, ending cycles of revenge and retaliation that had dominated the region. Jihad, which has been distorted by the West, means an inner struggle to achieve spiritual peace and entails acts of charity.

While the churches plan to burn Qurans in remembrance of the 9-11 victims, fortunately the Council on American-Islam Relations (CAIR) will provide an educational "Share the Quran" dinner. The council believes American Muslims and people of conscience should support positive educational efforts to prevent the spread of Islamophobia. Some pastors and Christians have forcefully denounced the burning of the Qurans and are calling for a spirit of trust, understanding and religious unity. They are rejecting conspiracy theories too about Islam, that are either propagated out of ignorance or by political demagogues.

Regrettably, there are some who have always succumbed to hysteria and fanaticism, acting as if they were a divine judge and executioner. Still others have distorted the purposes and meanings of the major faiths in the world. When horrific events-like plagues or Sept. 11-are mixed with imagined fears, blame, self-interest, militancy and ethnocentric views, one's perception of God can easily be twisted into a destructive ideology. As Christians in Italy burned what they thought were vain objects, another Italian, just one of many Europeans, was enslaving and committing mass genocide against Amerindians. What was really vain?

When religious faith is intermingled with military and commercial empires, it has a way of hindering God's love and mercies and denigrating the "Other." In confronting the Roman Empire, Jesus said what comes out of the heart-murder, evil intentions, adultery, slander, fornication, theft, and false witness-is what really defiles a person. (Matthew 15:19,20.) Christians in Italy, not to mention other European imperial powers, should have readied bonfires to burn their deadly allegiances to materialism, racism and militarism, not books, artworks, combs and mirrors.

Can the same be said today? Hopefully, churches planning to burn sacred Qurans on Sept. 11 will reconsider their belief and behavior. Would it not be much better to burn the vanity of collaborating with a corporate-military and national security state trying to control the entire world and its resources? Would it not be better to set ablaze vain modernity and its technological superiority that steals human dignity, devalues others faiths and cultures, and commodifies individuals while producing economic, psychological and spiritual poverty?

These churches might want to try and distinguish between sacred and profane rights and laws, and how some Islamic republics are experimenting with toleration of mosque and state (versus a strict separation of church and state ruled by a secular military regime). At the same time, when highly valued beliefs are threatened or preemptively attacked, Islam and the Quran does justify using self-defense to protect their communities against external acts of aggression by non-Islamic populations. This important faith-principle is important to understand when collaborating with and empire and its many preemptive wars.

Perhaps the real fires needing lit are acts of charity, empathy, religious toleration and an historical awareness with regards to Islam. Has there not been enough acts of militancy, hatred, revenge and political ignorance-all of which preceded and then followed Sept. 11, and none of which mirrored Christianity or Islam, let alone the Quran or Gospels? If some churches and Christians do burn the Quran on Sept. 11, it will be a Bonfire of the Sacred instead of a Bonfire of the Vanities. It will cause more ill-will and division, not only with others, but maybe even with God.

-- Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John's Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for www.worldnews.com. You can read more of Dallas' writings at www.beverlydarling.com and wn.com//dallasdarling.

A Christian response to the Islamic community centre near ground zero

By Julie Clawson

Austin, Texas - Last week New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg stood with representatives of local faith groups and declared that “there is no neighbourhood in this city that is off-limits to God’s love and mercy.” Personally, as a Christian who fully supports the proposed Muslim community centre near Ground Zero, Park51 (previously known as Cordoba House), his words echoed my heartfelt sentiments.

Yet there are many Christian Americans who have spoken out against this centre, claiming that it is inappropriate and offensive, and that its proximity to Ground Zero would allow Muslims to mock the events of 9/11. Since speaking out in support of the centre, I’ve even had other Christians accuse me of supporting the work of Satan and turning my back not only on my faith, but on everything the United States stands for.

I’ll be the first to admit that, like people of all faiths, Christians sometimes fail to follow the path of love and mercy Jesus modelled for us. We substitute our political leanings or our cultural fears in place of the command to love our neighbour.

It can be difficult to remember that the God we claim to worship is much bigger than ourselves. We do not hold a monopoly on God’s love and there are no places where we should not be at the forefront of extending it, working for reconciliation and healing.

Yet, in the continued confusion and misunderstandings sparked by the events of 9/11, I all too often encounter a culture of fear and revenge. Some Christians unfortunately say that the terrorists’ actions represent the heart of Islam. They project their fear and hatred onto all Muslims, blaming them for those events and asserting that they desire the destruction of Christianity and America’s freedoms.

Ironically, many of these same people are the first to argue when so-called Christians commit heinous acts that they do not act on behalf of all Christians. They go so far as to say they aren’t actually Christians, much less representative of the religion, as we saw recently when members of Michigan’s Hutaree Militia were arrested for planning to slaughter law enforcement workers.

But this same distinction is rarely extended to our Muslim brothers and sisters.

I wish I could offer an apology on behalf of those who hold such misinformed beliefs – for those Christians that fail to follow in the way of Jesus and who instead oppose the rights of Muslims to worship freely in our country. But I don’t speak for them. I can only live my life and use my voice to represent a different side of Christianity, one that truly believes God’s love and mercy extends everywhere.

And I can hope with Bloomberg that the building of this community centre will achieve its goal of working for reconciliation and "help repudiate the false and repugnant idea that the attacks of 9/11 are in any way consistent with Islam."

When people of diverse faiths come together as they did last week in New York in support of the community centre, we can start dismantling such false assumptions and collectively take a stand for the truth.

To that end I am grateful for the families of those that lost loved ones on 9/11 who are speaking out on behalf of Muslims and in support of Park51. These include the September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, who promote dialogue, non-violence and international cooperation, and have specifically spoken out in support of the centre. Out of their own tremendous grief they desire to protect Muslims from the kind of grief that comes from being condemned and ostracised. Instead of fearing some manufactured threat to freedom, they extend that precious freedom willingly to all.

That is Christian love in action.

Sadly, some Christians have not collectively responded well to this community centre or to Muslims since 9/11. I don’t want to hide that fact, even as I lament its reality. Some of us have strayed from the core of our faith that is rooted in love and freedom.

I pray we can take to heart Bloomberg’s recent words: “Muslims are as much a part of our city and our country as the people of any faith. And they are as welcome to worship in lower Manhattan as any other group.” We should transform our collective response into one that demonstrates those very values by supporting religious liberty for all.

-- Julie Clawson is the author of Everyday Justice: The Global Impact of Our Daily Choices. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).