Since Barack Obama entered the national spotlight in 2004 and more recently into the presidential race, there have been questions raised about his religious heritage. Some have voiced concerns over his connections to Islam, as his name is Arabic in origin and his father was born a Muslim. However, these claims are unsubstantiated and without much factual evidence. Obama never attended a Muslim school during his childhood as some have claimed, and his father became an atheist before Obama was even born. Today, Obama professes himself to be a Christian, although his religious choices raise a new set of questions about his ideology.
Obama joined Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ in 1988, and has been an active member in the congregation ever since. The church is well known for its size (8,000 members) as well as its recently retired pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Bear in mind that Obama did not simply join this church upon moving to Chicago; it was because of Trinity Church and Jeremiah Wright that Obama began attending church services and became a Christian. Obama frequently cites Wright as his “spiritual mentor,” and even borrowed the title of one of his books, “The Audacity of Hope,” from one of Wright’s sermons. After Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Wright was one of the first people he thanked in his victory speech. If what Obama says about his religious convictions are true, then Wright has undeniably played an integral part in the senator’s life. Considering the pastor’s views on various issues, this strikes me as a very troubling issue.
Jeremiah Wright is not a minister who avoids controversy. He has compared modern day Israel to South Africa during the period of apartheid, and likened the Zionist movement to racism. In reference to Sept. 11, Wright stated that the attacks were a result of the United States’ “violent” policies toward African Americans – implying that America got what it deserved.
While these statements are alarming enough, Wright has also had long and disturbing ties to Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the radical Nation of Islam movement. Unfortunately, I do not have enough room in this column to reiterate all of the hateful rhetoric that Farrakhan has espoused over the years about whites, Jews, gays and almost every group of people that is not black and Muslim. But his remarks have been condemned by a myriad of organizations over the years, from the Anti-Defamation League to the United States Senate. However, Farrakhan’s history of bigotry and intolerance has not been a deterrent to Jeremiah Wright, who visited Libya with him in 1984 and just last year praised Farrakhan for his honesty and integrity while awarding him the Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Award for “truly epitomizing greatness.”
In fairness, Barack Obama criticized Wright for his recognition of Farrakhan and last year uninvited Wright from introducing him at his presidential candidacy announcement. However, Obama’s recent efforts to distance himself from his “spiritual mentor” raise a new set of questions about the Illinois Senator. If Obama’s religious beliefs are as strong as he claims, then are his recent criticisms of Wright merely another act of political expedience? Which aspects of Wright’s rhetoric does Obama subscribe to, and which does he disagree with?
Unity has been one of the major themes of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. I recently heard one of his radio advertisements in which the voiceover states that Obama has an ability to “bring people together.” If Obama expects the American people to believe that in November, perhaps he should explain the actions of his divisive “spiritual mentor.”
Joseph Goddard is a junior political science major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
