Lots on Obama and his religion right here
http://www.theobamafile.com/obamareligion.htm
Quranic Studies
In his autobiography, “Dreams From My Father,” Obama mentions studying the Quran and describes the public school as “a Muslim school.”
During the time that he was in Indonesia, young Barry Soetoro, being a Muslim, would have been required to study Islam daily in school. He would have been taught to read and write Arabic, to recite his prayers properly, to read and recite from the Quran and to study the laws of Islam.
However, Obama received additional training. As the principal from 1971 through 1989 remembers, Obama had studied “mengaji.”
Our guy in Jakarta writes: “The actual usage of the word ‘mengaji’ in Indonesian and Malaysian societies means the study of learning to recite the Quran in the Arabic language rather than the native tongue. “Mengagi” is a word and a term that is accorded the highest value and status in the mindset of fundamentalist societies here in Southeast Asia. To put it quite simply, ‘mengaji classes’ are not something that a non practicing or so-called moderate Muslim family would ever send their child to. To put this in a Christian context, this is something above and beyond simply enrolling your child in Sunday school classes.”
“The fact that Obama had attended mengaji classes is well known in Indonesia and has left many there wondering just when Obama is going to come out of the closet.”
“As I’ve stated before, the evidence seems to quite clearly show that both Ann Dunham and her husband Lolo Soetoro Mangunharjo were in fact devout Muslims themselves and they raised their son as such.”
The Witnesses
In “Dreams...,” Obama himself recalls, “In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Koranic studies.”
According to Tine Hahiyary, one of Obama’s teachers and the principal from 1971 through 1989, Barry actively took part in the Islamic religious lessons during his time at the school. “I remembered that he had studied “mengaji” (recitation of the Quran)” Tine said.
Obama’s classmate Rony Amiris describes young Barry as enjoying playing football and marbles and of being a very devout Muslim. Amir said, “Barry was previously quite religious in Islam. We previously often asked him to the prayer room close to the house. If he was wearing a sarong he looked funny.”
Another classmate, Emirsyah Satar, CEO of Garuda Indonesia, was quoted as saying, “He (Obama) was often in the prayer room wearing a ‘sarong’, at that time. He was quite religious in Islam but only after marrying Michelle, he changed his religion.”
In an interview with the New York Times, Maya Soetoro-Ng, Obama’s younger half sister, told the Times, “My whole family was Muslim, and most of the people I knew were Muslim.”
_____EXCERPT______
2007 HILLARY DIGGING INTO OBAMA’S MUSLIM PAST
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/01/22/hillary-clinton-drops-madrassa-bomb-on-barack-obama.html
This is a partial transcript of “The Big Story With John Gibson,” January 19, 2007, that has been edited for clarity.
JOHN GIBSON, HOST: The gloves are off: Hillary Clinton is reported to be already digging up the dirt on Barack Obama.
The New York senator has reportedly outed Obama’s madrassa past. That’s right, the Clinton team is reported to have pulled out all the stops to reveal something Obama would rather you didn’t know: that he was educated in a Muslim madrassa.
I was criticized on this show for outing Obama as a smoker, but look at what some anti-Obama Democrats are doing to her political rival now. They are playing the Muslim phobia card.
Is this just the beginning? Is the Obama honeymoon officially over? What other dirty little secrets will come out as they battle it out in the race for the White House? With me now is Republican strategist Terry Holt.
Terry, this is appearing on a Web site today, Insight magazine, which is a subsidiary of The Washington Times. Here’s the question. I’ll put it up on the screen: Barack’s madrassa past. He says that “during the five years that we would live with my stepfather in Indonesia, I was sent first to a neighborhood Catholic school and then to a predominately Muslim school.” That’s from his book, “The Audacity of Hope.”
Now in the meantime, this is what Democrats are saying, according to Insight magazine. They’re looking into his background. They’re saying: He was a Muslim. He concealed it. His opponents within the Democrats hope this will become a major issue in the campaign.