SubscribeObama Wore Muslim Garb During Kenya Trip
[Note: please see the two updates posted at the bottom of the article.]
A poster named “Bannie” at Free Republic has noted a photo that appeared in the February 4, 2008 edition of the notoriously unreliable supermarket tabloid, the National Examiner:
It appeared in the following National Examiner article:
The resident “experts” at Free Republic are pronouncing this a photoshopped fake. But, oddly enough, there are photographs of Mr. Obama during his (taxpayer funded) trip to Kenya in August 2006, where he is wearing what would appear to be the same red shirt, khaki pants and wristwatch:
[BBC caption:] In Kenya on Sunday [August 27, 2006], US Senator Barack Obama on a visit to his late father’s homeland, is pictured with a camel at an animal market in Wajir, an area hit by a severe drought.
Surely there is some perfectly innocent explanation as to why Mr. Obama felt obligated to get himself done up in Muslim-like gear, if indeed he did.
But why haven’t we seen that photograph until now?
Indeed, there was even a movie made to document Mr. Obama’s historic (taxpayer funded) trip to his father’s homeland. (Again, note the red shirt):
From the Chicago Tribune:
Obama doc is photo op, not propaganda
Filmmakers show senator wooing Africans like primary voters
January 30, 2008
BY BILL STAMETSIn the documentary “Senator Obama Goes to Africa,” Chicago co-producers Bob Hercules and Keith Walker document the presidential candidate’s August 2006 trip overseas…
Hercules wished for more access to Obama. He got it later when Chicago political consultant David Axelrod hired him and Walker to make two up-close Obama videos that were posted on www.barackobama.com…
The Illinois Democrat sounds like he’s running for office in Africa, not America. “The people of the United States know what wonderful people the Kenyan people are,” Obama tells Kenyans. Long before the Dec. 27, 2007, presidential elections that led to bloodshed, he warned: “Corruption erodes the state from the inside, sickening the justice system until there’s no justice to be found, poisoning the police forces.”
Tribal tensions are not apparent in Obama’s visit to Kisumu, where he and his wife, Michelle, took AIDS tests. “I hope the people of Kenya will see us role models,” says Michelle Obama. Photo-ops occur at the grave of Obama’s father in Kisumu and during a visit with his Kenyan grandmother…
If this low-key documentary is not pro-Obama, its funders are. The credits list six individuals and two companies whose contributions to Obama’s campaign, according to FEC data aggregated at www.politicalbase.com, now total $76,215.
One suspects the scene portrayed in the National Examiner, if it happened, was not included in the movie.
Update!
Here is an earlier posting of the photograph at Han-Geeska Afrika Onlline:
[Geeska Afrika caption:] U.S. Senator Barack Obama, right, is dressed as a Somali Elder by Sheikh Mahmed Hassan, left, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya, near the borders with Somalia and Ethiopia. The area is at the epicenter of a severe drought that has hit the Horn of Africa region, after erratic and insufficient rains during the April-June season
So it isn’t a faked photograph after all.
Hmmmm.
Update!
Several people have emailed me about the following post from Rick Moran at the Right Wing Nut House:
ENOUGH WITH ALL OF THIS “OBAMA IS A MOOSLIM” CRAP
… Well, today conservative stupidity regarding Obama and his supposed ties to Islam hit paydirt – as in generating a ten on the laugh-o-meter. Evidently, the probable next president of the United States was caught in flagrante dilecto, dressed to the nines in what appears to be some kind of native garb (probably Kenyan) and with a (gasp!) turban on his head. To some of my unschooled, ignorant conservative friends, this is further proof that if we elect Obama president, there will be a department of Sharia Affairs.
The truth as Jim Hoft (via Sweetness and Light) shows, is a little less dramatic. The costume is that of a Kenyan tribal elder…
Well, Mr. Moran was kind enough to say that we revealed the truth on the issue. And I am usually an admirer of Rick’s writings, especially at the great American Thinker website.
But apparently he didn’t read the caption very carefully, and he does not seem to be as aware as might be of the situation on the ground in the area.
According to the photo’s caption, what Mr. Obama is wearing is NOT a Kenyan elder’s garb, but a Somali elder’s garb. This is quite an important difference, especially in view of the fact that Kenya is 90% Christian and Somalia is 100% Sunni Muslim.
Indeed, here is a photograph of what is considered “traditional dress” in Kenya, from MSN Encarta:
These members of a Nilotic tribe in Samburu, Kenya, are wearing traditional clothing. The men wear solid bright red fabrics; the women have vivid designs on their clothing and collars made of roped beads. Jewelry plays an important role in traditional African dress.
(Note again that during his visit Mr. Obama did wear a solid bright red shirt, which is the traditional color for male dress in Nigeria.)
Furthermore, Mr. Obama is descended on his father’s side from the Luo tribe. Their traditional costumes are described this way in Wikipedia:
Luo (Kenya and Tanzania)
… Adamson (1967) commented that Luos clad in their traditional costumes and ornaments deserve their reputation as the most picturesque people in Kenya. During most of their performances the Luo wore costumes and decorated themselves not only to appear beautiful but also to enhance their movements.
These costumes included sisal skirts (owalo), beads (Ombulu / tigo) worn around the neck and waist and red or white clay were used by the ladies. The men’s costumes included kuodi or chieno a skin warn from the shoulders or from the waist respectively to cover their nakedness. Ligisa the headgear, shield and spear, reed hats, clubs among others. All these costumes and ornaments were made from locally available materials…
So despite claims to the contrary, Mr. Obama was not wearing the traditional raiments of his father’s tribe in the photograph in question.
Indeed, the caption also notes that Mr. Obama is being “dressed” by a Muslim sheik by the name of Hassan. (As in Hassan Nasrallah.)
Moreover, the town Obama was in, his father’s hometown of Wajir, is the capital of the Wajir District in Kenya’s North Eastern Province.
The North Eastern Province is home to almost all of the Muslims in Kenya, who are almost all Somalis or of Somali ancestry. And indeed, Mr. Obama’s father was himself a Muslim and part (maybe half) Somali.
Again, from Wikipedia:
North Eastern Province
The North Eastern Province of Kenya, bordering Somalia, is one of Kenya’s seven administrative provinces outside Nairobi. The provincial capital is the town of Garissa, near Coast Province…
Formerly known as the Northern Frontier District, the North Eastern Province covers most of northeastern Kenya and is inhabited by pastoralist communities. The prominent ethnic group is Somali people. There have been many large Refugee camps in the area, with most refugees from Somalia.
For further elucidation, compare these two maps:
Note that the “Islamist Resistance” (the dark green areas in the lower map) is mostly ensconced down next to Kenya’s eastern border, abutting (and no doubt overlapping) the North Eastern Province.
The “Islamist Resistance” in Somalia are the worst of the worst extremist there. And given how extreme the populace is in general, that is saying something.
As we know, more than a thousand people have been killed recently in fighting over the last election in Kenya — which was in no small part a matter of the position Muslims would hold in that country.
The Muslim angle is heightened by the promises that the losing candidate, Mr. Raila Odinga, is alleged to have made to representatives of the Kenyan Muslims. (A point referenced in the National Examiner’s article.)
And again, on top of all of this, we have Mr. Obama’s own self-professed power as a symbol, a “role model” in Kenya, where is treated like a national treasure.
So whatever else Mr. Obama was doing, he was sending an unfortunate message. And I, for one, see no harm whatsoever in pointing that out.
Related Articles:
- Obama In Muslim Garb Is An AP Photograph
- Obama Camp Furious At Muslim Garb Photo
- 44 Killed Day After Kenya Peace Agreement
- Helicopters Deployed Against Kenyan Mobs
- Kofi Annan Finds "Rights Abuses" In Kenya
- Kenya Post Election Deaths Now Over 600
- Obama's Spiritual Mentor Brings Up Monica
- Kenyan Fighting Continues - In Parliament
- Obama's 'Mentor' Gave Farrakhan An Award
- 100 Killed As Kenya Election Riots Continue
- Obama: Flag Pin Substitute For Real Patriotism
- Obama Pastor: 9/11 Wake Up Call For Whites
- Barack Obama's Pastor And "Spiritual Mentor"
- Obama's Afrocentric, America-Hating Church
33 Responses to “Obama Wore Muslim Garb During Kenya Trip”
Leave a Reply
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:02 am
Surely you can find better ways to criticize him. Wearing “muslim” clothing? Weak.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:13 am
“Surely you can find better ways to criticize him. Wearing “muslim” clothing? Weak.”
Who is criticizing him for wearing Muslim clothes? But, if indeed, he did wear such garments, why has it been kept a secret?
There is even a movie out about Mr. Obama’s historic (taxpayer funded) trip to his father’s homeland:
Amazon.com: Senator Obama Goes To Africa
http://www.amazon.com/Senator-.....B000WS6YA0
I somehow don’t think this meeting made the cut.
Unless this is a faked photo (which it could be), why is that?
February 24th, 2008 at 1:26 am
What Obama did on his Kenyan trip is the kicker: supporting his Islamic radical cousin Raila Odinga, whom, I believe, supports Islamic sharia law and has ties to al Qaeda.
It is very telling that this is only getting reported in a tabloid and his ties to Odinga and Odinga’s ties to al Qaeda are not being reported by the mass media. But of course they will put out front page stories about *rumors* of McCain’s infidelity.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:50 am
“Raila Odinga, whom, I believe, supports Islamic sharia law and has ties to al Qaeda.”
I have been seen this allegation around the internet for quite a while.
The problem is that whereas Mr. Odinga did in fact sign a Memorandum Of Understanding with the Kenyan Muslims, there is some contention over what it actually contained.
The Christian “Evangelical Alliance of Kenya” contends that it promised the implementation of Sharia law, and other favors to the Muslims. And they have even produced the MOU, which I have in pdf form, but you can easily find it on the internet.
But others claim that this MOU is a crude forgery and the the real MOU was very limited and mild. And while it is supposed to have been made public, I have yet to see a copy of it.
However, I do have to say that the MOU the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya produced seems to be so over the top as to be almost preposterous. So it probably is a forgery.
So, at least as far as I know, the “radicalness” of Mr. Odinga is still up for debate. But I’m anxious to learn more.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Here is the key question when dealing with the ‘Muslim’ issue as it pertains to B. Hussein Obama and/or his family - radical, extremist (and many mainstream) Muslims/Islamic people are ‘given permission’ to lie to ‘the infidels’ which America is considered - so if a liar is lying how do you know he is lying or telling you the truth?
And therein lies the ultimate fear I have with this particular candidate and as pointed out by all here, the msm’s lack of investigative (or even close to it) reporting - what is the truth and why is America being kept from it?!?
Perhaps the empty suit is not so empty after all - and should that worry us? I, for one, think so and it worries me very much.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:12 am
I’d like to ask a serious question here. I thought it was considered heresy for a non-muslim to wear muslim garb and that there were severe penalties for so doing. Does anyone know for sure?
February 24th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Define “muslim garb”.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Why do I suspect that B. Hussein “Osama” Obama’s alleged baptism was taqqiya?
February 24th, 2008 at 11:44 am
1sttofight;…”Define “muslim garb”.
I’m thinking the head towel and prayer robes and such.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Since I don’t know how to post images here you’ll have to look them up yourselves, but in the last few days I seen photos of President Bush in African garb while on his trip. Does that make him an African? This is just silly.
Plenty of other things not to like about Obama.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
You are making my point, Beefeater. Similar photos of Mr. Bush donning costumes are readily found.
Why has this photo been hidden away, even though his trip was mostly a photo op and very heavily covered by the media.
Moreover, given Mr. Obama’s background and our country’s (and indeed the world’s) recent experiences with Islam, you would have to wonder about his judgment if he were to put on such gear.
Especially when he himself said at the time that he saw his actions (such as getting testing for AIDS) as a role model for the local Kenyans.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I don’t think anyone will confuse George W. Bush with an African anytime soon. Don’t confuse the two GWB & OHB. The former has done more for the continent than any other president by encouraging security, emerging market investment & the subsequent growth of wealth for free African countries while the latter patronizes with lip service & playing dress up.
I like America better when it’s run by grown ups. Don’t you?
February 24th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
beefeater; ….”Does that make him an African?…”
The question wasn’t “African” garb it was “Muslim” garb. And I DO think it significant, not silly. I just looked back on some letters from a friend who has hunted in Africa, Kenya being among the places he hunted. This was some years back but he told me that some of the gun bearers and trackers employed by his professional hunter (PH) were muslim. Among the things he related was that the muslims wouldn’t eat any of the game that had been killed unless it had been properly bled (halaal, I think it’s called), so they would rush to a downed animal and cut its throat with a knife or machette while it was still alive, and that would suffice. He told me they would do this to other animals that were obviously already dead (as a wink of the eye) so that they may partake of the feasting. He also told me a lot of other things about his trips. I don’t know if what he said was remembered through a blur of sundowners around a camp fire or not but I’m sure he told me the wearing of “holy garments” by non-believers was strictly taboo. He said that a lot of Africans were muslim dating back to the days of the Arab slavers. It was illegal for one muslim to hold another in bondage, so a lot of African slaves would adopt Islam and in so doing gain their freedom from their Arab masters. If the part about the wearing of the garb is true, I don’t want a muslim who refuses to wear a US flag lapel pin, or refuses to show proper respect during the national anthem, or who condones the display of the Cuban flag, replete with image of Che Guevera in one of his campaign offices, as president of the United States. You’re right. There is plenty not to like about Obama, but this isn’t silly. It IS one more thing the American public nees to know.
February 24th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
“Why do I suspect that B. Hussein “Osama” Obama’s alleged baptism was taqqiya?”
While dressing up in this “muslim garb” may be nothing more that just a friendly polite gesture to people of another culture, I do agree that it has been conveniently hidden from the American people for political purposes. However BO’s far-left political mentoring and activities through his late teens and earlier adulthood certainly speak to who the guy is now. I found this paragraph regarding his religious affiliation quite interesting:
“When Obama first undertook his agitating work in Chicago’s South Side poor neighborhoods, he was un-churched. Yet his office was in a Church and most of the folks he needed to agitate and organize were Church people — pastors and congregants — who took their churches and their church-going very seriously. So, this became a problem for the young AGNOSTIC, who had been exposed to very little religion in his life. Again and again, he was asked by pastors and church ladies, “Where do you go to Church, young man?” It was a question he dodged for a while, but FINALLY HE RELENTED AND JOINED A CHURCH.
Not just any church, but a huge black nationalist church with a pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who unabashedly preaches a “black” gospel.”
http://www.americanthinker.com.....jitsu.html
I put the above words in capitals because they indicate that his whole purpose in joining a church was to further his political goals and not his spiritual yearnings. And considering the kind of church he chose, I find the depth and reality of his Christian conversion experience rather suspect.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
that ios right about muslims and how they have to kill animals so as to eat them I am from australia, and the abbatoirs or slaughter house have to emplo muslims to do the killing by cutting the throats so muslims can eat the meat
February 24th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
A picture is worth a thousand words, but this one is woth a million. Farrakan’s backing Barack Hussien, which only makes sense since he’s his neighbor and apparent Muslim brother. I’m anxious to hear the details of his drug procurement practices — I wonder if he only purchased what he used, or did he he disposed of the surplus to finance his habit? This will be interesting.
Of course, the MSM not only doesn’t report any of this, they tried to discredit the photo. The lengths they will go to protect their own, e.g. Hillary & Huma, and attempt to humiliate Republicans, i.e. NY Times vs. McCain, is staggering.
BTW, I checked out Michelle Obama’s senior thesis — she’s obsessed with race, as suspected. For the record Dr, Condi Rice wrote her’s on the Soviet Union.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
EvaTheFrisbeeDog;…”Dr, Condi Rice wrote her’s on the Soviet Union….”
Yeah, but Condoleza Rice is a republican, what would you expect?
February 24th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
“Surely you can find better ways to criticize him. Wearing “muslim” clothing? Weak.’
How would you have felt if Truman wore a swasstika during WW2.
February 25th, 2008 at 11:12 am
All he has to do to counter this is to recirculate the lovely pic of Hillary kissing Suha Arafat. ;)
(What has this country come to, that either one of these two are in the race AT ALL?)
February 25th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
An update from the Politco:
Oh, my sides.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Albertafriend. Who are you to question his conversion or his faith. GOD? Give me a break.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Hey, our Presidents dons native garb whenever they travels. It’s a politician thing. Remember photos of T.R. and others in Native American get ups? True, maybe Obamamama enjoyed it more.
My favorite Muslim accoutrament is either 5.56, .308, 7.62, or 30.06. These always make them look not only good, but stylish and peaceful, too.
February 25th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
I have to admit that it is very telling, appalling even, to see all of the “media experts” pontificate on how this became public.
(Hint: it became public right here.)
It’s a lesson to all of us about how little they know about anything at any time.
February 27th, 2008 at 1:58 am
“I thought it was considered heresy for a non-muslim to wear muslim garb and that there were severe penalties for so doing. Does anyone know for sure?”
Hahahahhahahahaha. Fool. Only “official” Islamic secret ceremonial dress is sacred. Plus, since he does not have a beard he is granted an “belo”, or pass, for wearing muslim warm-up garb. Had he been sporting a beard he would have lost his left hand because he should have known better, the toilet paper using heathen.
What you are all missing is that turban he’s wearing is a disguised stinger missile. Not that dressing like a Muslim isn’t bad enough, since all Muslims are terrorists.
Boy, is it a full moon or what?
February 27th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
BTW, as we have seen the standard defense for this photo is that Mr. Obama was just being polite and donning an outfit that his hosts offered him. Much like world leaders do all the time.
Well, of course the second photo has put an end to that, since it is clearly not the product of a photo op or a “gift.” But what Mr. Obama put on when he was in the bosom of his extended African (Muslim) family.
Moreover, where are the photos of Mr. Obama in other outfits? Where is Obama in American Indian head dress? Or other regional attire?
Just wondering.
February 27th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
“Boy, is it a full moon or what?”
Well we do seem to have a moonbat buzzing the site!
February 27th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Well we do seem to have a moonbat buzzing the site!
Wait until he lands somewhere then he will get swatted.
February 27th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
There was an experimental fighter built towards the end of WWII, by MacDonnell…..it was the P-67 “Moonbat”. While it was purported to be a cutting edge fighter with all the latest innovations and unbeatable, in reality it looked great, but pretty much sucked as a fighter. It never delivered the promised performance, and the program was fraught with problems. Only two were built, and both crashed an burned due to instability and other influences.
That sounds exactly like most moonbats posting here! All cocked up to be something great, and in reality, chunks of worthless used alpo that invariably crash and burn. Just a bit of history for all of you.
February 27th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
” it was the P-67 “Moonbat”. ”
LMAO!!!
February 27th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Hey SJ, As I understand it, The P-67 Monnbats had problems flying because they had 2 left wings.
February 27th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Was mikemos’ comments supposed to be some sort of stinging jab from the left? Wow, if that’s the best they can do…….he tells us of these “facts” as if they are something to fear/respect/to hold in awe? “If you don’t do as I say, I will chop off your head, or some other body part”, that’s civility at it’s finest.
February 28th, 2008 at 4:47 am
DEZ! LMAO~
February 28th, 2008 at 8:21 am
DEZ;…”As I understand it, The P-67 Monnbats had problems flying because they had 2 left wings….”
And only had vision capability to the rear–you could always complain about where you’d been, but you had no idea where you were going. :-o