Gingrich: It Should ‘Bother’ Obama That People Think He’s Muslim

Republicans Jump on Obama Referring to ‘Bumps in the Road’ in Muslim World

Sep 242012

Edward Linsmier/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Remarks President Obama made during an interview Sunday are starting to get some criticism, with the suggestion that Obama implied that U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens’ death was a “bump in the road.”

“I guess when u win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing, an attack that kills an Ambassador is just a ‘bump in the road,’” tweeted former Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.

Other Republicans and conservatives, including officials from the Romney campaign, similarly criticized the president.

Fleischer was referring to this exchange on CBS’ 60 Minutes Sunday evening:

Steve Kroft: “Have the events that took place in the Middle East, the recent events in the Middle East given you any pause about your support for the governments that have come to power following the Arab Spring?”

President Obama: “Well, I’d said even at the time that this is going to be a rocky path. The question presumes that somehow we could have stopped this wave of change. I think it was absolutely the right thing for us to do to align ourselves with democracy, universal rights — a notion that — people have — to be able to — participate — in — their own governance. But I was pretty certain and continue to be pretty certain that there are going to be bumps in the road because — you know, in a lot of these places — the one organizing principle — has been Islam.”

“The one part of society that hasn’t been controlled completely by the government,” Obama continued. “There are strains of extremism, and anti-Americanism, and anti-Western sentiments. And you know can be tapped into by demagogues. There will probably be some times where we bump up against some of these countries and have strong disagreements, but I do think that over the long term we are more likely to get a Middle East and north Africa that is more peaceful, more prosperous and more aligned with our interests.”

A senior administration official emailed ABC News’ senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper Sunday evening about those criticizing the president’s remarks:

“1) It’s just not true that he was characterizing the attack in Benghazi — the question doesn’t even make mention of it. He’s speaking about broad trends.”

“2) Take a look at his answer — what is there to disagree with? We are holding true to our values. We face entrenched strains of extremism. We will benefit from a region that is more peaceful.”

“3) This is clearly a rocky path — the point he also makes clearly is that we have an interest in democratic transitions succeeding.”

Father of ‘American Taliban’ Is ‘Proud’ of Son’s Testimony in Group Prayer Lawsuit

Aug 272012

John Walker Lindh’s mother and father, Marilyn Walker and Frank Lindh, in 2002. SHAWN THEW/AFP/Getty Images(TERRE HAUTE, Ind.) — The father of John Walker Lindh, the young American who was captured in Afghanistan after 9/11 and sentenced to prison for aiding the Taliban against U.S. troops, said he is proud of his son for fighting in court Monday for the right to pray with other Muslim prisoners.

“I was really proud of John,” Frank Lindh told ABC News. “Today he did such a good job of explaining the daily prayer. It was a really well-informed testimony. It shows how much depth of knowledge he has about Islam.”

John Lindh, who pleaded guilty to helping the Taliban and carrying explosives, testified in court Monday that a prison policy limiting group prayer has forced him to sin.

Lindh, 31, is suing prison officials for the right to pray five times a day with fellow Islamic inmates instead of praying alone in his cell.

Lindh is being held in the Communications Management Unit in Terre Haute, Ind., where he is serving a 20-year sentence for supplying services to the Taliban and carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony.

“I am a Muslim and my religion requires that I perform five daily prayers in congregation. This is mandatory and not optional,” Lindh wrote in a handwritten complaint to prison officials that was also filed in federal court.

A ban on daily group prayer was instituted in 2007 after Muslim inmates ignored a lockdown caused by a fire alarm, court documents stated. Inmates are free to pray in their individual cells.

Every Friday, Lindh and his fellow inmates in the specialized unit are permitted to gather in the multipurpose room of the prison for the Jum’ah prayer service, which the Koran dictates must be done in a group, court documents stated.

The Communications Management Unit, which was established in 2006, has been referred to as “Guantanamo North.” Inmates whose communications are considered “high risk” to the prison community and the public’s security are housed in individual cells within the unit, according to the Bureau of Prisons website.

Amos Guiora, a professor of law at the University of Utah who teaches religion and terrorism courses, said daily group prayers in the unit are unlikely to be a terrorism concern.

“I don’t think it raises security concerns, but if it goes beyond the text of the prayer than I can understand how it could be seen as a security question,” Guiora said.

The daily prayers typically take “only a few minutes,” according to Lindh’s lawsuit.

Frank Lindh said he and John’s mother take turns each month commuting from their homes in California to visit their son in Terre Haute, which is 70 miles from Indianapolis.

He said he gets a 15-minute phone call from his son every Wednesday, while John’s mother gets a call every Sunday.

“It’s a very safe environment for John. I’m sorry he’s in prison but this is the best circumstance, that he is not in the general population,” the elder Lindh said.

John Walker Lindh, who converted to Islam as a teenager, was captured in Afghanistan on Nov. 25, 2001. During his sentencing, he condemned terrorism and said he made a “mistake” joining the Taliban.

“Although I thought I knew a good deal about the Taliban when I went to the front line, it’s clear to me now that there were many things of which I was not aware,” he said.

At the end of his testimony Monday, Lindh was placed in chains and transported back to Terre Haute. On Tuesday, he will be provided with a video link so he can still be present during proceedings in his case, his father said.

Lindh is eligible for release in 2019.

Americans Least Likely To Vote For Atheist, Muslim Presidential Candidates, Poll Finds

Jun 212012

Comstock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Ever since Mitt Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman announced their respective presidential bids, there’s been some debate over whether or not Americans would be willing to vote for a Mormon president. Apparently, the vast majority — 80 percent — are, while 18 percent are not, according to a newly released poll from Gallup.

The poll showed that Americans are least likely to vote for someone who identifies as atheist, 54 percent, with individuals of Muslim faith following closely behind — just 58 percent of Americans responded they’d be willing to vote for someone who was Muslim. Sixty-eight percent said that they would vote for a presidential candidate who was gay or lesbian, while the rest of the groups — black, female, Catholic, Hispanic and Jewish — each had “yes” responses of 90 percent or more.

Interestingly enough, the percent of Americans who say that they would not vote for a Mormon presidential candidate has been virtually unchanged since Mitt Romney’s father, George Romney, ran for president in 1967. A Gallup poll taken in April of that year found that 17 percent of respondents said they would not vote for a “well-qualified presidential candidate who happens to be Mormon.”

Americans’ resistance to voting for presidential candidates of the other aforementioned racial, gender, and religious backgrounds has subsided substantially over roughly the same time period. Gallup polling from 1958 onward has consistently shown increases in the percent of Americans willing to vote for candidates who were black, Jewish, female, Catholic, and gay or lesbian (although that group was not included in polling until the 1970s.)

The Muslim question was not included in polling until 2012.

Even atheists have seen an increase in hypothetical support. In 1958 just 18 percent of Americans said they’d be willing to vote for an atheist presidential candidate.

Republicans in this most recent poll reported a higher willingness to vote for a Mormon candidate, 90 percent, as opposed to 72 percent of Democrats and 79 percent of independents. However, as Gallup notes, that is likely tied to the fact that the Republicans’ presumptive nominee is Mormon.

Muslim Group Offers Reward for Criminals in Muslim Garb

Apr 252012

Philadelphia Police(PHILADELPHIA) — A Muslim group in Philadelphia is offering a $20,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest of criminals who have been dressing up as Muslim women.

A string of bank robberies and a homicide committed by men dressed as Muslim women has inspired the Majlis Ash Shura, a group representing Philadelphia-area Muslim congregations, to put up the reward.

“Philadelphia is a unique city in that Islam is not new here,” Aliya Khabir, a spokesman for the United Muslim Masajid, said. “It’s up to us to set the tone for how this is addressed.”

Police are searching for suspects in five bank robberies and a murder in which a man wearing a veil similar to those worn by conservative Muslim women shot and killed a barber at a barbershop outside of the city, according to ABC News affiliate WPVI.

“We are seeing this all too often now, cowards dressing in the outer garb of Muslim women, robbing banks, shooting people,” said District Attorney Seth Williams.

A suspect in the murder case has been arrested, but police are still searching for at least two other suspects for the bank robberies. The suspects are described as two black males with thin builds, approximately 5-feet-10. The men were seen in surveillance video wearing loose dark-colored dresses and head coverings, according to the Philadelphia police department.

Authorities do not think that the crimes are the work of a single group, but rather individuals adopting the same strategy.

Imam Asim Abdul Rashid, of the group that is sponsoring the reward, said Tuesday the crimes are endangering members of the Muslim community.

“It puts our women in danger and it puts a black mark on our community in general,” he said.

Gingrich: It Should ‘Bother’ Obama That People Think He’s Muslim

Mar 232012

Richard Ellis/Getty Images(FOURCHON, La.) — Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is amping up his language on President Obama’s faith and his relationship with Muslims. Gingrich told ABC News Friday that he takes the president at his word that he’s a Christian, but finds it “very bizarre” that Obama is “desperately concerned to apologize to Muslim religious fanatics.”

Gingrich said the president’s apology to the Afghan president for the burning Korans by U.S. soldiers happened last month “while they are killing young Americans,” referring to the two Americans killed during protests over the burned books. Gingrich said at the same time, the administration is “going to war against the Catholic Church and against every right-to- life Protestant organization in the country.”

Asked by a member of the press if it concerns him that a large portion of the electorate believes Obama is a Muslim, Gingrich replied, “It should bother the president.”

“Why does the president behave the way that people would think that? You have to ask why would they believe that? It’s not because they’re stupid. It’s because they watch the kind of things I just described to you,” Gingrich said.

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