I finally got the "Obama is a Muslim" email!!! See my response:

[LucyParsons]

I have a cousin who is a year younger than me, married with a child, college degree, "good" job - who has over the past few months sent me right wing and religious emails with increasing frequency. I always either ignore them or forward them to my friends who come from similar rural Southern backgounds, and we all laugh/shake our heads together before forgetting about it.

But I had to respond to this.


* * * * *

----- Original Message -----
From: XXXXXX
To: xxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 10:02 PM
Subject: FW: BARACK -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who is Barack Obama?
Probable U. S. presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a black MUSLIM from Nyangoma-Kogel, Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white ATHIEST from Wichita, Kansas . Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned to Kenya . His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a RADICAL Muslim from Indonesia.? When Obama was 6 years old, the family relocated to Indonesia . Obama attended a MUSLIM school in Jakarta . He also spent two years in a Catholic school.

Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim. He is quick to point out that, 'He was once a Muslim, but that he also attended Catholic school.' Obama's political handlers are attempting to make it appear that? Obama's introduction to Islam came via his father, and that this influence was temporary at best. In reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya soon after the divorce, and never again had any direct influence over his son's education. Lolo Soetoro, the second husband of Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, introduced his stepson to Islam. Obama was enrolled in a Wahabi school in Jakarta

Wahabism is the RADICAL teaching that is followed by the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world. Since it is politically expedient to be a CHRISTIAN when seeking Major public office in the United States , Barack Hussein Obama has joined? the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background. ALSO, keep in mind that when he was sworn into office he DID NOT use the Holy Bible, but instead the Koran. Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential candidacy. The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the US from the inside out, what better way to start than at the highest level - through the President of the United States , one of their own!!!!



------------Reply-------------
from XXXXX <[e-mail]>
to xxxxxxxxx
cc
3 other original recipients
bcc
all my friends

date Jan 14, 2008 8:58 AM
subject Re: FW: BARACK -

Ah, I finally get the "Obama is a Muslim" email.

Obama is not a Muslim. Obama is a longstanding member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

There is a great website that fact checks all the candidates and calls them on false claims in their campaign ads and literature, as well as debunks things like this which are written by ignorant people and spread by chain email by people who don't bother to check sources and do a little research before clicking the "forward" button.

However, even if Obama was a Muslim, that would in no way diminish his ability to be a competent president of the United States. In America, we are all free to practice any religion we choose (or none at all). As long as a person respects the Constitution (which the current president and most of the Congress clearly do not), and does not try to impose sectarian religious beliefs on other Americans, his or her religion is irrelevant. I am personally much more worried about Christian fundamentalists forcing their own brand of fascism on the rest of us than I am about radical Muslims taking over our government. But I am willing to fight both.

Check out these sites for information regarding the claims in this and other anti-Obama emails. I would also like to add the disclaimer that I am neither a registered Democrat nor a supporter of Barack Obama.

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/sliming_obama.html

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/


LucyParsons

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Good for you!

I haven't gotten this email yet. But then, with a name like Ayesha Haqqiqa, I doubt if I ever will :)

[immoderate]

2. I wonder if she'll answer.

Your reply was good.


--IMM

[LucyParsons]

6. Her reply:

from XXXXXXXXX
to XXXXXXXX<[e-mail]>
date Jan 14, 2008 9:12 AM
subject RE: FW: BARACK -


I figured you would know.

[kikiek]

9. Well that is good. She used you as a source rather than assume it true. At least that is

how I am reading her reply. If so I give her credit.

[CorpGovActivist]

3. Lovable Lucy Parsons...

... ever the anarchist!

; )

K&R

- Dave

[chelaque liberal]

4. I got it last night. Another recipient "reply all'd" :

Man oh man, this is the third time I've gotten this trash. The author SAYS that it's been checked out on snopes, but this can't be true, because snopes states it is false and goes to great length to debunk these statements. Please check out snopes for yourself- act responsibly before you spread false rumors about any human being. This is far from Christian action. Since most of you won't bother to go to snopes, let me hit the high spots. There is no evidence that Barack is now, or ever has been a muslim. His father left when he was 2 years old and had no contact with him until he saw him briefly when he was twenty-something. So how could he have mentored him in the Muslim religion. CNN and the AP have investigated the allegations that he attended a madrassa(extremist islam school) and they both found them to be false. He attended a public school, very secular, not religion based. He has been a member of the United Church of Christ since the mid 1980s , long before he even contemplated a political career( became an Illinois Senator in 1996) and finally, it was Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison who used the Koran for his swearing-in ceremony, not Obama, who used a Bible.



I was as mad as she was but not as bold with the reply. I only replied to the sender that Snopes in fact labeled it false.

[chelaque liberal]

8. Oops, it appears that it wasn't the same email.

I didn't read the OP all the way through; I just reacted to "Obama email". Mine was much less refined, if that is possible.

[Boojatta]

13. "He attended a public school, very secular, not religion based."

Perhaps it was all that exposure to secularism that turned him into a Muslim:

No, everyone is born Christian. Only later in life do people choose to stray from Jesus and worship satan instead. Atheists have the greatest "cover" of all, they insist they believe in no god yet most polls done and the latest research indicates that they are actually a different sect of Muslims.

;-)

[LucyParsons]

14. Yeah, good to know I am a Muslim (nt)

[mmonk]

5. Good retort.

[onethatcares]

7. thank you, now your response sits on my desk waiting for my turn

to send it out. I already had to deal with the Social Security and how the Democrats were robbing everyone blind. Wow, I got no reply from the asshole that sent me that. But, I'm sure to get the Obama was a Muslim from my employer.

[LucyParsons]

11. Yeah, I was just WAITING to get this

I don't respond to her Paul Harvey fundie Christian rah rah rah U-S-A! U-S-A! emails, but I figured this was one that deserved a response and wouldn't cause too much scandal amongst my conservative relatives who have no idea that I admire Lucy Parsons. ;)

(Or know who Lucy Parsons is.)

[Jack Rabbit]

10. Well done, Lucy

:thumbsup:

[theoldman]

12. I have not received an E-mail like this nor have any of my

Republican friends made any comments about it. My response to them would be too harsh to print.

[pamela]

15. I got that email the other day, too, from my Right-wing brother-in-law.

My response:

Please stop sending me these dumb-ass emails.

[FredScuttle]

16. I got it today....it's reappearing like a fucking cold sore

My response:

All:

I usually delete these e-mails, but this is a particularly ugly e-mail that's been making the rounds and I would appreciate the opportunity to set some things straight about the claims made in it. It is filled with inflammatory exaggerations of Senator Obama's background and is intended to play to our worst xenophobic, anti-Muslim fears. One can imagine a simliar type of this message distributed 80 years ago to warn voters of Al Smith's Presidental campaign and the fact that he was a CATHOLIC - religious affiliation marked in capital letters to inflame and scare. This is a shameful tactic and people of all faiths should reject its use.

The facts on Senator Obama are:

- Senator Obama has never been a Muslim (radical or otherwise) at anytime in his life. He has been a member of the United Church of Christ since 1985 and describes himself as a "Christian"
- Senator Obama barely knew his father, who left the family when Obama was 2 years old and died when he was 21. There is no evidence that the senior Obama was a "radical Muslim"
- In his 2006 book The Audacity of Hope, Obama elaborated on his early schooling, explaining that he attended both Catholic and Muslim schools in Indonesia - not out of any particular religious affiliation, but because his mother wanted him to obtain the best possible education under the circumstances. Senator Obama did not attend "radical" or "Wahabi" schools - quite the contrary, Senator Obama is a product of public schools!
- Senator Obama's Indonesian step-father, Lelo Soetoro, was an observant Muslim, but there is no evidence that he was a "radical" or that he applied "radical" teachings about his faith to his stepson
- The statement that "when he (Obama) was sworn into office, he did not use the Bible but instead the (Quran)" is completely false and is most likely a reference to the first elected Muslim to Congress, Rep. Keith Ellison from Minnesota. Also, no religious texts (including the Bible and the Quran) are used during the swearing-in ceremony for new House members. The new members simply stand in front of the speaker's podium, raise the right hands and swear to uphold the Constitution. Many members carry Bibles with them for the post-ceremony photo opportunity with the Speaker of the House (as Rep. Ellison did when he posed with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a copy of the Quran that was once owned by Thomas Jefferson)

A fuller debunking of this e-mail may be found at the real Snopes.com at the link below:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

I would also urge you to hear Senator Obama's views on the issues that really matter, directly from him:
http://www.barackobama.com/

Yours in honest appraisals of our candidates,
(fredscuttle)

[USA_1]

17. Radical Madrassas Are Not Permitted In Indonesia ...

... by fascist dictator Suharto. That proves that the mailing by Obama's haters is a total fabrication.

[progressoid]

18. Ugh. It's only a matter of time before I get that one too.

Cool response.

[MiniMe]

19. Don't forget Snopes.com

I usually use Snopes to check out urban legends.

[VotesForWomen]

20. surprise, surprise. nt

[laylah]

21. Lucy,

I, too, received the idiotic diatribe via a sister. You were much kinder than I was. I just replied to all and called it a racist, bigoted, ignorant e-mail and advised everyone to do their homework for themselves.

Good reply on your part!

[LucyParsons]

23. Yeah, I have to be somewhat diplomatic, though

...because I have a couple of dear old relatives who would just DIE if they suspected I was not a God-fearing, church-going, flag-waving etc. etc. etc.

Once they're gone though, it's no holds barred on the rest of the extended family. They'll find out I'm a proud liberal and atheist the first time they send me a piece of ignorant shit like this email. Then I expect they'll either step up the conversion hardcore, or disown me. I don't really care.

[NoBorders]

22. Great response. Has he responded yet? eom

[LucyParsons]

24. Her reply:

from XXXXXXXXX
to XXXXXXXX<[e-mail] >
date Jan 14, 2008 9:12 AM
subject RE: FW: BARACK -


I figured you would know.