Much like issues of his "blackness," questions surrounding Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's religion refuse to go away.
One e-mail that has been circulating widely across the Internet reads in part, "Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential candidacy. The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the U.S. 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!!!"
For the record, Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ and has never been a Muslim. (See also: Who Really Is Barack Obama?)
But it's difficult to blame some naïve public bystanders when the e-mail is also being circulated by members of Sen. Hillary Clinton's volunteer campaign staff. In the past several weeks, two members of Clinton's Iowa staff have been forced to resign for forwarding the e-mail, reports CNN.com.
Clinton's campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle disavowed the e-mail after terminating the volunteer workers. The Obama camp has declined to comment, only saying his campaign wouldn't be derailed by "small-time tactics," reports Wonkette.
Obama's religious affiliation has been well dissected in the press. CNN, as well as several other media outlets, debunked false reports about Obama's religious upbringing earlier this year. There were false reports that Obama was educated in a "radical Muslim school known as madrassa." This is false. According to the CNN report, Obama attended a Muslim school while a living in Indonesia as a child, but it was not madrassa, which teaches the most fundamentalist form of Islam.
Obama isn't the only candidate who's had to deal with issues of his religion along the campaign trail. Just last week, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was compelled to hold a news conference to deal head-on with concerns about his Mormon faith and what impact that would have on his presidency. Romney dealt with the issue delicately at the new conference on December 6, saying the word "Mormon" only once. But as much as much as Romney's people have had to deal with the Mormon issue, no one is associating Mormons with terrorism.
(See also: Commentator: Romney, Victim of Bigotry, Turns on U.S. Muslims)
The fear of Muslims levied in Obama's direction is the offspring of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Council on American-Islamic Relations reported a total of 2,467 complaints in 2006, compared with 1,972 complaints reported in 2005, a 25 percent increase in the total number of complaints from year to year.
Given the current climate, when Muslim communities in Los Angeles are being mapped out by police because of terrorism concerns and dragged off of airplanes for praying, it's no wonder Obama's critics are trying to portray him as Muslim. Consider this: Last year saw just the first Muslim lawmaker elected to Congress.
And of course, when Obama isn't explaining his religion along the campaign trail, he's still dodging continued criticism about his lack of blackness. The most recent criticism comes from civil-rights icon Andrew Young, who noted former President Bill Clinton is "every bit as black as Barack."
(See also: Oprah, Barack and Michelle Obama: 'Like a Religious Experience')
