Obama fights false links to Islam

During the debate, Obama repeated his denunciation of Farrakhan’s views, which have included numerous anti-Semitic comments. And, after being pressed, he rejected Farrakhan’s support in the presidential race.

The Democratic candidate says repeatedly that he is a Christian who took the oath of office on a family Bible. Yet on the Internet and on talk radio, and in a campaign introduction for Republican candidate John McCain this week, he often is depicted, falsely, as a Muslim with shadowy ties and his middle name, Hussein, is emphasised.

“If anyone is still puzzled about the facts, in fact I have never been a Muslim,” he told the Jewish leaders in Cleveland, according to a transcript of the private session.

On Tuesday, McCain denounced the introduction he got in Cincinnati that criticised Obama in vivid terms. Talk show host Bill Cunningham referred to Obama three times as “Barack Hussein Obama” and called him a “hack, Chicago-style” politician during Cunningham’s introduction of McCain. The Obama campaign is closely attuned to the rumours and insinuations. Information on Obama’s Christian faith is prominently available on the “Know the facts” page of his website. The campaign has distributed flyers to churches in states with presidential contests. It encourages supporters to flag any attack that may make its way into cyberspace.

“Our campaign is vigilant in quickly responding to any information about Senator Obama that surfaces, be it on the Internet, in the media or from our opponents,” spokesman Bill Burton said on Wednesday. If there is confusion—and opportunity for political mischief—it derives at least in part from Obama’s rich cultural background.

His mother was a white woman from Kansas, his father was Kenyan, and he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, a largely Muslimcountry.