Why is his Arabic first name not suggestive of his having a Muslim background?

Submitted by not the midwest (United States), Sep 16, 2012 at 15:07

"Barack", Arabic for "praised", a cognate of "baruch", would be indicative of a past Muslim identity to me. Although it would be common for non-Muslim Christians in Arabic countries to give their children Arabic names, I do not think it would be common for someone from east Africa to give his child an Arabic name unless that person was a Muslim.

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