[treely]

A lot of right-wing types seem to like to claim that Obama is a "secret Muslim." Aside from the lack of evidence to back that up, I would like to know if it is even POSSIBLE to be a secret Muslim. I hope that some Muslims might answer.

Of the five pillars of Islam --

- can one make the declaration of faith (there is no God but God and Muhammed is his prophet) secretly and privately, or does one have to be public with the statement?
- one could probably make zakat secretly
- one could make the pilgrimage to Mecca at any time, so if Obama hasn't done it already, he might conceivably plan to do it after his presidency

but what about...

- praying five times a day, can you do it without a prayer rug or any external gestures? And can one be flexible about the times of day?
- fasting during Ramadan? How could that not be observed, in eight years?

Would there be any dispensations for these practices if someone was trying to keep their Muslim religion secret?

And he's never to my knowledge been observed studying the Quran, would a Muslim neglect the Quran in the interests of secrecy?

That brings up another question. When Trump says he would bar Muslims from immigrating, many people bring up the question of how you could even tell if someone was Muslim or not. Well, what if the immigration people handed prospective immigrants a ham sandwich? Would a Muslim who was trying to conceal their religion eat the ham? What if someone served pork to Obama, would he be allowed to eat it in the interests of keeping his Muslim-ness a secret?

Is it even possible to be a secret Muslim?

[Hindsite]

Obama does not flaunt his Muslim faith, but he has omitted publicly that he is Muslim. You are poorly informed to think there is no evidence. There is plenty of evidence. You are just not looking for it.

[The Sabbaticus]

Taqiya (تقیة taqiyyah/taqīyah, literally "fear, caution")[1] is a form of Islamic dissimulation or a legal dispensation whereby a believing individual can deny their faith or commit otherwise illegal or blasphemous acts while they are in fear or at risk of significant persecution.[2]

This practice is emphasized in Shia Islam whereby adherents are permitted to conceal their religion when under threat of persecution or compulsion.[3][4] However, it is also permitted in Sunni Islam under certain circumstances.[5][6]

Wiki

[Bulaba Khan Jones]

Obama does not flaunt his Muslim faith, but he has omitted publicly that he is Muslim. You are poorly informed to think there is no evidence. There is plenty of evidence. You are just not looking for it.

So, the proof that Obama is a Muslim is that he has omitted that proof publicly? I.e. by not admitting he's a Muslim, and thus omitting that confession, he is therefore a Muslim?

You haven't admitted you're a Muslim, therefore you, Hindsite, must be a Muslim.

I'm sure this is just you having spelled "admitted" incorrectly, but still, pretty funny. When did Obama publicly admit to being a Muslim, Hindsite?

[Ganeshas Rat]

I'm sure this is just you having spelled "admitted" incorrectly, but still, pretty funny. When did Obama publicly admit to being a Muslim, Hindsite?

Maybe he meant "omitted that he is not Muslim". Lack of denying means confirmation or something like that.

[Rich]

What the American Conservative establishment most hates about Obama is his failure to support Muslim terrorists. Obama wasn't the driver behind the Libyan intervention and he certainly hasn't been the driver in Syria. The American political establishment is dominated by Zionist traitors who support the Jerusalem -Riyadh axis of evil.

Do I like Obama's approach to Islam? Certainly not, but its better than most of the western establishment and we see small signs that it has actually improved over time. Small signs that he thinks Islam is not the wonderful religion that the lefties and the Conservative establishment would have us believe. The Republican establishment has been hand and in glove with the Saudi terrorist machine for decades. By encouraging the mutterings about the birth certificate and Obama's religion the Republican establishment were trying to mobilise the racist base without directly engaging in racism themselves. Anti Muslim sentiment like anti immigration sentiment was purely meant as a tool to get the vote out. Once elected it was meant to be business as usual for Ziono-Sunni-terrorist foreign policy as it was for low wage immigrant employers.

I'm starting to come to the view that if you look carefully Obama has started to distance himself ever so slightly from the fanatical Muslim loving left- liberal consensus. Dreams of my father could be subtitled as "Dreams of a Muslim apostate."

[Paradigm]

Maybe he meant "omitted that he is not Muslim". Lack of denying means confirmation or something like that.

I'm pretty sure he meant "admitted," but just has as poor a grasp of English as he does of politics.

[treely]

There is plenty of evidence.

The only evidence I can uncover is that as a child he listed Muslim as his religion on a form, unless you count countless repetitions by right-wing nutcases that "Obama is a Muslim" as evidence?

He claims to be a Christian, but I don't see any evidence that religion matters in his life at all.

[Hindsite]

The only evidence I can uncover is that as a child he listed Muslim as his religion on a form, unless you count countless repetitions by right-wing nutcases that "Obama is a Muslim" as evidence?

He claims to be a Christian, but I don't see any evidence that religion matters in his life at all.

Barack Obama Admits He's Muslim Before A Global Audience

[youtube]W7y1B6BsDo0[/youtube]

[Heisenberg]

Leaving aside the fact that Obama is quite obviously not a "secret Muslim" for a minute, let's just ask one thing: why would it even matter? Is the idea that he is slowly trying to turn America into some kind of shari'ah state by... doing absolutely nothing to turn America into a shari'ah state? In what way has Obama's "secret Muslimness" changed how the country is governed, other than firing up Republican wall-punchers to vote for batshit insane Tea Party candidates who are intent on wrecking everything?

[treely]

That question makes too much sense, and is too obvious for the batshits.

Even if he were a Muslim, it hasn't played any more role in his governance than JFK's Catholicism did in his.

Their point, I think, is just that it is supposed to be a reason to hate Obama.

But my question is still if it is even possible to be a secret Muslim.

And if he were really trying to keep it a secret, would he be saying positive things about it, while meantime failing to be observant?

[redcarpet]

I don't see how it's possible to be secretly religious of any religious grouping. I'd say it's easier to 'secretly' be an atheist rather. There's no dress code, there's no places we frequent, etc. So it's obviously easier to be a 'I mind my own business' atheist that doesn't get in people's faces when religion comes up in conversation, so by simply being mute, as it were, the average person doesn't know whether you're religious or atheist when they encounter you in life.

In life, I only enter religious discussions like half the time. Thankfully it's been all friendly, etc. I'm sure everyone else in the room, or at least the assuming kind, just assumed I was religious as well. I'm usually the only atheist to specifically say so.

[treely]

I don't see how it's possible to be secretly religious of any religious grouping. I'd say it's easier to 'secretly' be an atheist rather. There's no dress code, there's no places we frequent, etc.

That makes sense. And I believe that there are not only secret atheists who are mute, but secret atheists in the political realm who pretend to be religious. It doesn't take much to mimic the kind of simple-minded religion required by a large segment of the voters.