"My *$%#ing name was NOT supposed to be mentioned in the article!"
Posted on 01/19/2007 7:52:42 PM PST by Torie
Obama 'was educated in madrassa'
Tim Reid and Tom Baldwin in Washington
# Senator hid time there, says article
# Clinton distances herself from claims
Barack Obama was given a rude awakening to the cut-throat world of presidential politics yesterday after being accused of hiding four years in which he was educated at a madrassa when a teenager.
The claim, made in the conservative Insight magazine, also revealed the Machiavellian scheming of political activists in a presidential race still nearly two years away.
It was aimed at tarnishing Mr Obama’s image in the week he announced himself as a White House contender. But the article also claimed that the madrassa allegations came from aides to Hillary Clinton, Mr Obama’s main opponent for the Democratic nomination.
This may be wishful thinking on behalf of Republicans. The Clinton camp is determined not to be accused of digging dirt on Mr Obama because they fear such tactics could backfire, given his popularity.
But the Insight allegations represent an exquisite double shot at the Democrats’ two leading White House contenders: it implies that Mr Obama, whose middle name is Hussein, is a closet Islamic extremist, and that Mrs Clinton is so rattled by his candidacy she is using underhand tactics to weaken him.
Mr Obama, who is expected to announce formally his candidacy on February 10, has never been subjected to the hardball tactics of the presidential arena — until yesterday. Last night an aide said that the campaign was working on a formal statement, but added that the claims were “not accurate”.
The online article begins: “Are the American people ready for an elected president who was educated in a madrassa as a young boy and has not been forthcoming about his Muslim heritage?” It continues: “This is the question Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s camp is asking about Senator Barack Obama.”
Mr Obama’s mother was a white woman from Kansas; his father, a black Kenyan Muslim. He states in his recent biography that he attended a predominately Muslim school when he lived in Jakarta as a teenager.
But the article claims: “In Indonesia, the young Obama was enrolled in a madrassa and was raised and educated as a Muslim.” It says that Mr Obama omitted to say in his memoir, or at any other time, that he attended the school for four years.
Mr Obama, who has spent his adult life in Chicago, calls himself a Christian and says that he believes in God. He attends a local church.
A source close to the Clinton campaign told The Times, a day before the Insight article was published, that they do not want to be seen as attacking Mr Obama or digging for dirt, but that they would be happy for another Democrat contender to criticise him.
claims were “not accurate”. Sounds like the statement " i never had sex with that woman"
John Fund of WSJ when interviewed on KSFO this morning said folks shouldn't go down this road re: madrassa..
"My *$%#ing name was NOT supposed to be mentioned in the article!"
A typical madrassa usually offers two courses of study: a "hifz" course; that is memorisation of the Qur'an (the person who commits the entire Qur'an to memory is called a hafiz); and an 'alim course leading the candidate to become an accepted scholar in the community. A regular curriculum includes courses in Arabic, Tafsir (Qur'anic interpretation), shari'ah (Islamic law), Hadith (recorded sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad), Mantiq (logic), and Muslim History. Depending on the educational demands, some madrasahs also offer additional advanced courses in Arabic literature, English, and other foreign languages as well as science and world history.
Obama would be well advised to stay out of dark places in Arkansas as well as national parks in the D.C. area. Also flying in planes over the former Yugoslavia is not safe (as someone should have told Ron Brown.)
Double carom and plunk into the pocket.
If that was true, why did he get sworn in on a koran? He's a lying bassturd. He's muslim....
John Fund says lots of silly things.
Hehe ... it begins.
That's nice for him to say.
But, here, Senator Clinton and us are on the same side. I don't like her - I hate him. Stop Obama first.
Who would believe that the Clinton campaign is using underhanded tactics?
And that's just sad. Fund used to be quite good. Apparently no more
I hate her, I loathe him.
I saw you post this statement on another thread about Obama Hussein. Curious as to why Fund thinks we shouldn't go there, did he explain why?
You've got your congressmen mixed up.
Time wouldn't need to lay off so many employees if they dug into stories such as this. Would give us a reason to purchase the magazine. Instead we know that Time will tow the same line as the rest of the MSM, and so there is no reason to bother reading it.
Manchurian candidate?
This has clinton machine written all over it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.