At the end of the Pre-Course Test I administered on the first day of classes this semester I asked the students in the two sections of the introductory course in Islam that I teach whether or not Barak Obama is a Muslim. I offered them three options for their answer: (1) “Yes,” (2) “No,” and (3) “Maybe,” “Do not Know,” or “Have No Opinion.” (The next time around I’ll be a bit more careful in the options I offer.)
The results were as follows.
(1) 21% answered “Yes,”
(2) 49% answered “No,” and
(3) 30% answered “Maybe,” “Do not Know,” or “Have No Opinion.”
One might well ask both students and other readers first to consider the following argument schema:
All believers in _____ are Muslims.
Barak Obama is a believer in _____.
Therefore, Barak Obama is a Muslim.
second to “fill in the blank,” identifying those things which only Muslims believe, and third to provide evidence sufficiently strong to warrant the belief that Barak Obama is a believer in those things and therefore a Muslim.
On the other hand, one might equally well ask both students and other readers first to consider the following argument schema:
No believers in _____ are Muslims.
Barak Obama is a believer in _____.
Therefore, Barak Obama is not a Muslim.
second to “fill in the blank,” identifying those things which no Muslims believe, and third to provide evidence sufficiently strong to warrant the belief that Barak Obama is a believer in those things and therefore not a Muslim.
I would be very interested to see the variety of responses if you had us respond with one of the above-described syllogisms. However, my main concern lies not with whether or not people believe he is Muslim, but that his being Muslim is something negative, or (and I don’t believe this to be true in the case of President Obama) that indeed he is Muslim and had to hide his faith to successfully run for public office.
Your point is well-taken. My own concern is not simply the question of whether or not an actual or potential president is a Muslim, but rather that of, if he or she is a Muslim, what sort of Muslim he or she is; i.e., that of what the doctrines of his or her version of Islam imply for matters of public concern. Similarly, my concern is similar regarding the question of whether or not an actual or potential president is a Christian, but rather that of, if he or she is a Christian, what sort of Christian he or she is; i.e., that of what the doctrines of his or her version of Christianity imply for matters of public concern. And thus too for other religions and for all ideologies.
I do not hold any negative feelings towards Barack Obama for being a Muslim. People are free to choose which religion, if any, they would like to believe in. I would, however, like to know what type of Muslim he is as Dr Hennessey stated. It would be interesting to sit down and have a talk with the president about how he practices his faith. Does he have the time to practice it the way he would like? Is he already practicing it the way he would like? It is a very interesting topic. Too bad a sit down with Barack for a one on one conversation is potentially impossible.
I need to hasten to say that my remarks should not be construed as asserting that President Obama in fact is a Muslim. I doubt very much that he is a Muslim. Very much. On the other hand, I am somewhat doubtful that he is a Christian in any specific sense. I say that I am somewhat doubtful; this is not a matter about which I have anything approaching knowledge. My doubt is based largely on his generational and educational background and on not being aware of his having made any statement about his Christian faith that says more than than that which would be required by the American electorate of an national politician. I could, however, be wrong.