Practicing not necessary; declaration enough

Submitted by amu Milhem (United States), Jan 9, 2008 at 13:47

SportzStew, seemingly well-meaning, is, obviously, a person holding a Western viewpoint. Such a person would look at the situation and "not consider Obama to be an apostate, because as everyone with the slightest bit of logic and common sense could see, Obama was never a practicing Muslim. Accompanying his father on a few occasions is hardly proof that he was Muslim."

In "seeing" only from the Western viewpoint, what SportzStew does NOT "see" is a crucial point: in the matter of Islamic apostasy, the Western viewpoint is totally irrelevant.

The only relevant viewpoint in this context is the Muslim viewpoint, which has its own set of logical and common sensical underpinnings; and they are certainly not Western in character. All that is required for a person to become a Muslim is to recite the "shahada." That's it; no "practicing," no entering a mosque is required.

There seems to be no doubt that Obama occasionally entered a mosque. Given that as fact, it is reasonable for one to assume that he remained there throughout the "service." Moreover, it is also just as reasonable for one to assume that, while in the mosque, Obama participated in the service, an integral part of which is all present recite the shahada numerous times.

Although a Muslim usually works under the assumption that nobody will recite the shahada without having sincere belief and conviction, for some Muslims, even this is not necessary; just saying the words is enough.

For evidence of this, just take a look back at a news story of last year about how some Muslims forcibly moved a young male Christian from the home of his Christian parents, solely because they had heard him mimicking a muezzin's singing of a call to prayer, which includes the words of the shahada.

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