Hayya ‘ala-l-Falah (Rise up for Salvation)
Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times reported last year: "Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent. In a remark that seemed delightfully uncalculated (it’ll give Alabama voters heart attacks), Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as ‘one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset‘".
The following is the Arabic transliteration and the English translation of what you hear:
Allahu Akbar
Allah is Great
(said four times)
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah
I bear witness that there is no god except the One God (Allah).
(said two times)
Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
(said two times)
Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah
Hurry to the prayer (Rise up for prayer)
(said two times)
Hayya ‘ala-l-Falah
Hurry to success (Rise up for Salvation)
(said two times)
Allahu Akbar
Allah is Great
[said two times]
La ilaha illa Allah
There is no god except the One God (Allah)
“I was a little Jakarta street kid,” Obama told Kristof. The writer then adds: "He once got in trouble for making faces during Koran study classes in his elementary school, but a president is less likely to stereotype Muslims as fanatics — and more likely to be aware of their nationalism — if he once studied the Koran with them".
One year later…
"Obama’s campaign aides have emphasized his strong Christian beliefs and downplayed any Islamic connection. The Illinois senator was raised ‘in a secular household in Indonesia by his stepfather and mother,’ his chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said in a statement in January after false reports began circulating that Obama had attended a radical madrasa, or Koranic school, as a child. ‘To be clear, Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ in Chicago,’ Gibbs’ Jan. 24 statement said."
Of course not! Of course he’s not a Muslim! It’s just that after 46 years of never being a Muslim, Obama simply can’t get the words to the Islamic Adhan out of his head…
Obama’s religion shouldn’t be the issue here, but his campaign’s highly defensive stance makes the insinuation of being Muslim seem downright dirty. He either was a Muslim and is lying, or he wasn’t and chooses to denigrate the religion to prove it. Either way: disgraceful. Not exactly the attitude one would expect from the ‘Great Unifier’. Just how much is Barack Obama willing to throw under the bus so he can become President? More importantly, does anyone know who this guy really is? Please, if you find out, let me know…
I’m betting he still IS a Muslim–that his wife told him if he ever wanted a chance at being president he’d have to “convert” to a Christian. Ok, but where are the death threats against him for converting? They are completely missing, which means he’s a closet convert only, making it appear he’s a Christian for political expediency. They guy’s a complete and total fraud…….
Comment by Rockyspoon — May 15, 2008 @ 11:31 am
Rocky, you gotta be the stupidest moron to come along in awhile. Read a book and stop using other peoples talking points. If you want a quick educational trip on how your side uses propoganda like this, let me explain… During 2000 electin Bush and Rove marketed that McCain was a manchurian candidate (same thing they’re calling Obama) because he was a POW and was brainwashed. Look it up! You repubs sure set yourself up to be real he-men, but you sure seem like a bunch of scaredy cats. lol
You may buy into their stupid, mind numbing, make believe stunts to get elected, but the majority aren’t. Look up what I said too, there is always another side to any story. If you’re not intellectually curious enough to look at an issue from more than one side, then you should stay off the comment pages because you’re bringing a knife to a gun fight. Moron…
Comment by D — May 16, 2008 @ 1:46 pm
You must be plain MAD and MORONIC. So, 20 years+ ago when he started working and helping poor communities and christian outreach, he ‘converted’ Christianity to run as a president? He has been painted negatively with the United Church of Christ and Wright, now some IDIOT says he is a muslim? I haven’t seen a worse delusional fool like the writer and bloggers here!!
Comment by Stupidity? — May 16, 2008 @ 2:41 pm
Wow. Have you EVER left the United States in your entire life? The call to prayer IS very beautiful — just like many other religious rituals. You don’t have to be a Muslim to feel that way, and you just show what a bigot you are by not understanding this. And is there no song or prayer you learned as a child that you still know, despite not having sung it in a long time? Perhaps you’ve killed off a few too many brain cells if not.
***[You weren’t paying attention: “Obama’s religion shouldn’t be the issue here, but his campaign’s highly defensive stance makes the insinuation of being Muslim seem downright dirty. He either was a Muslim and is lying, or he wasn’t and chooses to denigrate the religion to prove it. Either way: disgraceful. Not exactly the attitude one would expect from the ‘Great Unifier’. — Political Pyro]
Comment by NotsurehowIgothere — May 19, 2008 @ 1:03 pm
The question is this: why does OHB’s website state not only that O is a Christian but that he NEVER was a Muslim? According to Muslim tradition, if your father is a Muslim then you are. It may be that since the church he joined accepts Muslims without conversion O did not actually have to convert from Islam. That would be the loophole that would keep him from being an apostate. He can be a Christian by the terms set out by Trinity Church and remain a Muslim because of his birth.
Comment by lewis — May 20, 2008 @ 5:47 am