Wernerd630's Blog

     Osama bin Laden must be laughing his turbin off because the 2008 presidential campaign could give the Al Qaeda the ultimate propaganda tool: President Barack Hussein Obama, Muslim apostate. Just because Obama, the son of a Muslim father, insists he was never a Muslim before he became a Christian, is irrelevant to bin Ladin. In his eyes, Obama is a murtad fitri, the worst type of apostate, because he was blessed by Allah to be born into the true faith of Islam. There are two types of apostates, according to Islamic law and the Hadith. The first type is murtad milli, one who converted to Islam and later renounced the faith. The second, and most egregious, type is murtad fitri. It refers to a person born of a Muslim father who renounces his birthright. According to Islamic jurisprudence, children of a Muslim father, even an apparently nonpracticing one, such as Obama's father, and irrespective of the mother's faith, are automatically Muslims. Most Muslims around the world agree: A child of a Muslim father is a Muslim. Period. Should Obama become US commander in chief, there is a strong likelihood that Al Qaeda's media arm, As-Sahab, will exploit his background to argue that an apostate is leading the global war on terror. This perception would be leveraged to galvanize sympathizers into action. Remember: Al Qaeda's ultimate goal is to restore the caliphate and expand Dar al Islam. Reaching it requires a long war against all, Muslim and non-Muslim, who don't share its extremist Wahhabi worldview.

     The al Qaeda, though, have struggled recently to recruit volunteers for this jihad. While bin Laden retains significant support as someone willing to stand up for Muslim concerns, most Muslims abhor Al Qaeda's terrorist methods whose primary targets are innocent noncombatants. But an apostate as head of the United States could change this equation. It would be a propaganda boost for Al Qaeda's mission. All one has to do is read Al Qaeda's public statements to recognize how frequently it makes baseless apostasy accusations against fellow Muslims who challenge its message or actions. That's why Obama is bin Laden's dream candidate. Once branded as an apostate, President Obama would face enormous difficulties in the foreign policy realm, especially in the fight against terrorism. He's caught between a rock and a hard place. If he softens the US strategy against Al Qaeda and its ideologues, his apostasy might be an afterthought for Al Qaeda. But if he acts firmly in America's national interest to defeat the terrorist threat, he'd be vilified in an Al Qaeda propaganda campaign for reneging on his "true identity."

     Furthermore, his administration would struggle to positively engage the Muslim world, where Islam isn't just a religion, it's the way of life. Conservative Muslim populations that are riddled with poverty and low literacy rates can be more readily swayed to join the cause against the U.S. if their imams and mullahs shout that it is led by an apostate. Diplomacy is highly personal. The leaders of America's Middle Eastern allies, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar, already feel besieged by jihadists and disgruntled citizens who see their governments as toadies of the West. The murtad card could intensify that pressure, so leaders of these countries might be compelled to distance themselves from Washington. In short, an Obama presidency, which might be fine domestically, could have serious repercussions for US foreign interests at a time when it is especially vulnerable in a tight global oil market.

     The al Qaeda have been conspicuously quiet about Obama's candidacy so far, but that shouldn't come as a surprise. In hopes of an Obama victory, they're probably waiting until he's taken the oath of office before they begin branding him a traitor to the faith of his fathers. Islamic terrorists know that the long road to success lies in stoking the "clash of civilizations." To reach their goal of restoring the Caliphate in a form that fits their worldview, they need massive numbers of Muslims to join their global jihad. Bin Laden and his followers have already shown their willingness to exploit real or imagined religious schisms to expand their support base. So it's not hard to imagine bin Laden praying that Obama wins this November. Shireen K. Burki, adjunct professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Va.

This is the 100th anniversary of Mother's Day. Anna Jarvis, the woman who created one of the world's most celebrated holidays, probably wouldn't be pleased with all the flowers, candy or gifts. She would want us to give mothers a white carnation, which signifies the purity of a mother's love. Jarvis, who never married and never had children, got the idea of Mother's Day after her mother said that it would be nice if someone created a memorial to mothers. Three years after her mother died in 1905, she organized the first official mother's day service at a church where her mother had spent more than 20 years teaching Sunday school. Today, the former Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church is the official shrine to mothers around the world. On Sunday, the shrine will celebrate the 100th anniversary, giving each mother attending a special service a white carnation. The shrine also serves as a "reminder to the accomplishments of these women and to the issues mothers still deal with today, trying to do the balancing act of being everything to everyone," said Cindi Mason, the shrine's director. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 83 million mothers in the United States. More mothers now work out of the home and the number of single-mother households has tripled to more than 10 million since 1970. What has allowed Mother's Day to become celebrated on the second Sunday in May in 52 countries is "everyone has a mother," said Sally Thayer, a trustee of the International Mother's Day Shrine in Grafton. "It's a wonderful thing to celebrate."

Jarvis' mother Ann was a community activist who worked to heal the divisions in north-central West Virginia following the Civil War, and to promote improved sanitation by creating Mothers Friendship Clubs. West Virginia became the first state to recognize Mother's Day in 1910. President Woodrow Wilson approved a resolution in 1914 marking the second Sunday in May a nationwide observance.

"Mother's Day was meant to be, and still is, a celebration of a nineteenth-century ideal of motherhood, when mothers were supposed to dedicate themselves completely to nurturing their children and making a cozy, safe home," Prieto said.

Yet, Jarvis became increasingly disturbed as the celebration turned into an excuse to sell greeting cards, candy, flowers and other items. She became known for scathing letters in which she would berate people who purchased greeting cards, saying they were too lazy to write personal letters "to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world." Before she died in 1948, she protested at a Mother's Day celebration in New York, and was arrested for disturbing the peace.

The National Retail Federation estimates that Americans will spend $15 billion this year honoring their mothers. Dining out is expected to be the No. 1 expense.

In the end, Mason said Jarvis was bitter about what the observance had become and "wished she would have never started the day because it became so out of control ..."

"But when you look at Mother's Day as being her baby of sorts, you can understand her protectiveness of it."