Obama’s “ObamaCare 13″ in White House Speech includes 2 Muslims

Posted By Daniel Greenfield On October 21, 2013 @ 1:43 pm In The Point | 4 Comments

I just find it strange. Are Muslims now 20 percent of the country? They had to pick these people up from somewhere and that ‘somewhere’ was most likely political organizations linked to Obama.

The group isn’t all that diverse. Comparatively speaking. There seems to be one African-American and one Latino prop in the 13. I don’t see any Asians. But what looks to be two Muslims.

Of the 13 people who flanked President Obama during his speech defending Obamacare in the Rose Garden Monday, just three had successfully registered for the new Obamacare exchanges.

Of that 13, we have…

Malik Hassan, Prospective ACA Beneficiary
Malik Hassan works at a restaurant in Philadelphia. Hassan, who does not receive coverage through his employer, is looking forward to enrolling for health coverage this fall. He recently used Healthcare.gov to process his application and is waiting for the options for potential plans in Philadelphia.

and

Zohre Abolfazli, New ACA Registrant
Zohre Abolfazli has owned a small business outside of Nashville, Tennessee for almost twenty-five years. Even though she has been able to maintain her health insurance over the years, it has been a challenge to find affordable, comprehensive health insurance in the individual market place. Last night, Abolfalzi was able to register throughHealthCare.gov and now plans to comparison shop for the best plan that meets her budget and needs.

The bios don’t come with religious identities, but at best their backgrounds are both from the Muslim world. We’re entering a strange definition of diversity when that means having more Muslims on stage than any other minority group.

I’ve read that too, so maybe, along with Amish, Mennonites and some other religious groups and Native Americans they can object on religious grounds. I have read that Muslims might not be one of the exempt groups, but no matter there are exempt groups. Which IMO means Catholics should be exempt on birth control, along with Evangelicals and observant Jews based on abortion. Else the government is establishing separate laws for selective religions.

This is a pretty good explanation from a couple years ago.

Muslims Exempt from ObamaCare? A relevant excerpt, the court's will likely have to decide, though Eric Holder might decide for them. Other than the government, I'm not sure who would be successful challenging the exemption.

Where do American Muslims stand regarding the individual mandate’s religious exemption? Under a strict interpretation of the Koran, which forbids acceptance of public or private insurance, they are exempt under this loophole. However, since the great majority of American Muslims pay Social Security taxes and receive Social Security benefits, they don’t qualify for the religious exemption. Nevertheless, PPACA rules offer a situation where American Muslims could qualify for the religious exemption. If an individual is a member of a “health-sharing ministry,”—a religious non-profit organization in which members contribute money to cover the medical expenses of those in need—they are exempt from the requirement to purchase insurance.
Health sharing ministries exemplify the Muslim principle of Takaful –individuals cooperating and protecting one another against loss or damage. This writer knows of no such health sharing ministry organizations in the U.S. at present. However, as of December 2008, Risk Specialists Companies, Inc., a subsidiary of AIG Commercial Insurance, has offered Lexington Takaful Solutions SM Takaful homeowners insurance, which includes health insurance. This is part of a series of Shariah-compliant insurance products in the U.S. The Takaful homeowners policy is underwritten by RSC member company A.I. Risk Specialists Insurance, Inc., in conjunction with Lexington Insurance Company, and is available in all 50 states. However, why was this provision—that members of health sharing ministries qualify for the religious exemption—put in H.R. 3590 in the first place? What happens when American Muslims, who participate in the Social Security system, join a “health-sharing ministry”?

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