PART 4 - They call him 'Hussein.' Muslims claim Barack as one of their own

Obama is percieved by fellow Muslims as one of them.

In this fourth installment, we examine how other Muslims view Obama.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Obama's half-sister, Maya, once referred to her whole family as Muslim. This would include Barack. His half-brother, George Hussein Obama, also admitted that Barack was Muslim, but that "He may be behaving differently due to the position he is in, but on the inside, Barack Obama is a Muslim."

In June 2006, Obama admitted that his path to Christianity was long, and described it as an "evolution." Even his pastor, Jerimiah Wright, did not say with conviction that Obama had become a Christian. When asked by author, Edward Klein, "Did you convert Obama from Islam to Christianity," Rev. Wright replied, "That's hard to tell." Has Obama truly renounced his Islamic faith?

Others view Obama as a Muslim too. Throughout the Islamic world, much is made of his middle name, Hussein. Hussein is an Islamic middle name. For Muslims, who know that religion follows the father and that a person cannot leave Islam, it is obvious. Obama is a Muslim. From the former Prime Minister of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan, to the man on the street, Obama is a Muslim. 

Many Muslims acknowledge that Obama claims to be a Christian, but that he is still a Muslim. They believe Obama is the first Muslim American president.

Author, Asma Gull Hasan wrote in "My Muslim President Obama"

"I know President Obama is not Muslim, but I am tempted nevertheless to think that he is, as are most Muslims I know. In a very unscientific oral poll, ranging from family members to Muslim acquaintances, many of us feel that we have our first American Muslim president in Barack Hussein Obama. since Election Day, I have been part of more and more conversations with Muslims in which it was either offhandedly agreed that Obama is Muslim or enthusiastically blurted out. In commenting on our new president, 'I have to support my fellow Muslim brother,' would slip out of my mouth before I had a chance to think twice. 'Well, I know he's not really Muslim,' I would quickly add. But if the person I was talking to was Muslim, they would say, 'yes, he is.' "

In polls taken by Pew, about 10 to 11 percent of all Americans think Obama is a Muslim too. He is certainly a Muslim by birth. Slightly less than half of those polled knew Obama claims to be a Christian.

Does Obama's Muslim religion inform his decisions? Does it change how he relates to the world or impact our foreign policy? The answer is probably. A person who seems so conflicted about a basic ontological question must certainly be troubled. It's absurd to think it doesn't impact his thinking.

We'll explore the implications of this series in our final part.