Obama is not an apostate in Islam

Submitted by Amjad Khan (United States), Dec 25, 2007 at 13:11

Mr. Pipes:

Recall the saying of the Prophet of Islam from Bukhari: "Every infant has an in-born predisposition to be a Muslim, but his parents make him a Jew or a Christian or a Zoroastrian." Thus, the identity of a child's religion depends upon a child's upbringing. Assuming that Obama's biological and step-father both were Muslim, this would not necessarily imply that Obama was a Muslim. In point of fact, his mother raised him to be Christian (Obama has mentioned this fact multiple times).

Obama cannot be considered an apostate in Islam because, as a child who was raised Christian, he never could renounce Islam. Your contention that Obama is a Muslim by virtue of his name and birth to a Muslim father is inaccurate. As the Prophet of Islam suggests, the litmus test to gauge the identity of a child's religion is to ascertain the child's upbringing. Obama clearly was not raised a Muslim (living in Indonesia and having limited instruction in Islam at a public school cannot reasonably count as being raised a Muslim). Obama was raised Christian and remains a Christian. He cannot therefore be an apostate in Islam.

Some Muslims might have a more rigid view of apostasy as it relates to children. Without empirical evidence, however, you cannot say for certain whether most Muslims -- in this country or otherwise -- would conceive of Obama as as an apostate, or whether they would even care or not. Assumptions should not be touted as fact.

Sincerely,

Amjad Khan

USA

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