Barack's up-bringing does not make him a Muslim

Submitted by Garry Prior (Malaysia), May 8, 2008 at 22:37

... You can say there is a case to answer, but you must also acknowledge that it is a very weak one and based on circumstantial evidence and imputation of of intent in a child. When we are very young, many claims are made for us which do not bind us in later life, unless one accepts as binding the premise that Muslims are not free to choose. While the religion may (or may not) say that, the core democratic beliefs ,that most of the West subscribe to, include the right to choose one's religion or none. To say that Barack is bound by his father's religion, and that any early exposure to it is proof of acceptance is to deny the element of choice and ,in this case, to deny a very thoughtful and acute observer of the dynamics of his mixed race from having determined for himself who and what he was going to be.

I could as easily say that as I went to ballet classes when I was six, and can remember the First and Second Positions, I am a lifelong ballet dancer. Anyone seeing me in the flesh would know that to be absurd!

Garry Prior

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