Is Obama a Muslim?

[Crumbled_pavement]

Ever since Obama's comments on the so-called Ground Zero Mosque there has been a lot of news coverage regarding Obama's religious beliefs. I'm not sure why this is such a big controversy, but since it is, I'd like to discuss it in this thread. A recent poll conducted by Time magazine shows as many as 18% of Americans believe Obama is indeed Muslim, while 43% say they don't know, and merely 34% say he's Christian [[http://www.time.com/time/politics/ar...011845,00.html). In this thread I want to ask three questions:

1) Is Obama a Muslim?
2) Why is there an increasing number of people who believe that he is Muslim?
3) Does it matter what the president's religious beliefs are?

Since I asked these questions of the forumers, I feel it is only fair that I answer first.

1) No, I believe Obama is a Christian.
2) As the economy and unemployment continue to be bad and the opposition to Obama's policies grow, one strategy for opponents of Obama is to frame him as an outsider who does not share America's values. If successful in framing Obama as being a foreign-born Muslim, the opposition has one more log to throw on the fire to defeat him.
3) No, it doesn't matter. Certainly, regardless of whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent, there are a lot of legitimate criticisms against the president. We should not fear challenging the ideas of those in power regardless of what party they claim, so I will not demonize Obama's opposition. Personally though, I could care less whether the president is Christian, Muslim, or Atheist. I'm much more concerned with his competence and his understanding of the issues that affect the country. Religion is a personal issue, of which we will never all be on the same page, no matter who is president.

Okay, let 'er rip!