WI: Obama Really Was A Muslim?

Yes, I know putting the words Obama and Muslim together in the same sentance is almost asking for a flame war, but please, try to be mature.

Anyway, we've all heard the story that Obama is really a secret Muslim. Why he would keep it a secret is beyond me, but the idea got me thinking...what if Obama converted to Islam sometime in his adult life, before he went into politics? Not a secret Muslim or an extreamist or a terrorist, but just your average moderate American Muslim.

Would he still be able to get into politics, elected to the Illinios and US Senate and such? Would he still have been able to make his keynote speech at the DNC in 2004? For that matter, would he still be a Democrat? :p

And of course, would he still be able to run for and get elected President, even if not in 2008, but later?
 
The right wing are going to make a big deal out of it, at least the extremist ones. I can't say much for sure.
 
That's a tough one. I think we would be able to get to Senate and he would win the Democratic nomination... he would probably still become President. After all the only people who are going to be really opposed to his faith are far-right wingers who would vote against him anyway. There would be even more far-right-wing hate and conspiracy theorizing about various topics.

Also, the Middle Eastern countries would probably be a lot more friendly to the US from then on.
 
America has freedom of religion. Only the super right wingers (bigots) would see a problem with it. They would try very hard to make it a problem though.
 
Also, the Middle Eastern countries would probably be a lot more friendly to the US from then on.

Not necessarily. It's just as easy for them to say he's not a true Muslim as it is for Americans to say he's not a true Christian.
 
That's a tough one. I think we would be able to get to Senate and he would win the Democratic nomination... he would probably still become President. After all the only people who are going to be really opposed to his faith are far-right wingers who would vote against him anyway. There would be even more far-right-wing hate and conspiracy theorizing about various topics.

Also, the Middle Eastern countries would probably be a lot more friendly to the US from then on.
I agree with this. I think there would be a higher chance of President H.Clinton, but given how well Obama handled Jeremiah Wright I think he could diffuse tensions that could arise from his religion in the primaries (once he wins the primaries, he wins the election).
 
Assuming that events happen roughly as OTL until 2004, yes Obama will win his Senate race given who his opponents are. I've been told by various Illinoisans here that Jack Ryan could not have beaten Obama even if his divorce records had remained sealed. His State Senate district gave him over 70% of the vote every time, so electability there is not an issue. DNC speech: probably. 2008: quite possibly. If Hillary wants to do what Nixon did in '60, namely keep religion out of it, then things go as OTL. However butterflies might result in Hillary running a better campaign and winning the nomination, so 2008 is hard to predict.
 

archaeogeek

Banned
Yes, I know putting the words Obama and Muslim together in the same sentance is almost asking for a flame war, but please, try to be mature.

Anyway, we've all heard the story that Obama is really a secret Muslim. Why he would keep it a secret is beyond me, but the idea got me thinking...what if Obama converted to Islam sometime in his adult life, before he went into politics? Not a secret Muslim or an extreamist or a terrorist, but just your average moderate American Muslim.

Would he still be able to get into politics, elected to the Illinios and US Senate and such? Would he still have been able to make his keynote speech at the DNC in 2004? For that matter, would he still be a Democrat? :p

And of course, would he still be able to run for and get elected President, even if not in 2008, but later?

He'd likely manage politics but have a harder road; I'm not sure it would be as easy in Illinois and I don't really know the local religious makeup or attitudes so at worst I suspect he could at least make a name for himself in another city with a reasonable black and/or muslim population (like Philadelphia, which not only has a lot of african-americans but also a lot of afro-carribean and african immigrants and a few mosques). But I think he'd still manage even in IL.

If things are as IOTL at the time of the presidential election, both his nomination would probably be less landslides than OTL, but the war and crisis weariness plus the fear of a Palin presidency the minute McCain drops dead would probably still allow him to be elected.

I know my views are colored by the fact that I'd arguably be considered a "secret muslim" (mixed muslim/atheist/lapsed catholic household with a UN-style family tree) but having spent a while in Philadelphia, I have honestly not seen many people who really cared that the city has a significant muslim community, and I've seen similar in a lot of cities and parts of "small town" America. It would be much harder to whip up the kind of frenzy that has been for a little bit about the NYC muslim community centre when the GOP is at a seriously bad low, and I suspect it could be seen as basically grasping at straws to hide their own choice of candidate being, basically, untested and apparently undesired at the time.

His strength, IMO, was never his religious beliefs, but his ability as a public speaker, and the simple fact that his opponents were very weak and/or inheriting terrible messes. Being effectively muslim might even have, on second thought, strengthened his position by shutting down all the rumours about that fact and allowing the media to get on with it.
 
Keith Ellison did get elected after all.


Xwarq, I'd say it depends on what kind of atheist.
 
Any thoughts on how the OTL Republican Candidates might handle a Muslim candidate?
McCain wouldn't make it an issue, during the election someone said "Obama is a Muslim, he's an Arab," and McCain basically said, "No he is not. And even if he was it wouldn't make a difference to me."

Of course, Palin and the others are something else entirely, to say nothing of Fox News. Although they already claim Obama's a Muslim anyways, so OTL.
 
Obama would win his senate seat. He would not be able to win the Dem primary in '08 though unless he was an unobservant Muslim or he had a very liberal cleric who never made any gaffes about terrorism / 9/11 / Israel on tape... because the first "The US was partly responsible for 9/11..." or the first "Zionism is evil" comment from anyone close to him would make him unelectable compared to Clinton or Edwards (who hadn't been disqualified due to his own skeletons yet).
 

archaeogeek

Banned
I've never heard any FOX journalist say Obama's a Muslim, and Palin has never said anything like that either.

The Fox Madrassa story, where they claimed a public school in Indonesia constituted a radical muslim madrassa. To be fair I suspect the average Fox talking head wouldn't know the difference between a madrassa and a halal butcher shop :p - so of course it's an easy mistake to make :rolleyes:
 
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