ABC NEWS: At the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Hotel this morning, President Obama spoke about the discovery of his own faith and went into his religious heritage in more detail than he generally did on the campaign trail.
“I was not raised in a particularly religious household," the president said. "I had a father who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, grandparents who were non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, and a mother who was skeptical of organized religion.”
The president described how he found faith while working as a community organizer in the south side of Chicago and how it grew to be an important part of his life.
“I know this breakfast has a long history in Washington," the president said at the annual event, held the first Thursday in February since 1953. "Faith has always been a guiding force in our family’s life, so we feel very much at home and look forward to keeping this tradition alive during our time here.”
Mr. Obama said that in history, faith has too often been wielded as a tool to divide, or as an excuse for prejudice or intolerance. “There is no doubt that the very nature of faith means that some of our beliefs will never be the same. We read from different texts. We follow different edicts. We subscribe to different accounts of how we came to be here and where we’re going next –- and some subscribe to no faith at all," he said, making a nod to atheism that was unusual for the setting.
"But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate," he said, perhaps a wishful notion more than a factual one, given religious fanaticism seen from Topeka to Riyadh. >>> Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller | Thursday, February 5, 2009
PR NEWS WIRE: CAIR Welcomes President's Islamic Reference at Prayer Breakfast
WASHINGTON -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today welcomed President Barack Obama's use of a quote from Islam's Prophet Muhammad in his remarks at Thursday's National Prayer Breakfast.
In his prepared remarks, President Obama quoted the prophetic tradition, or "hadith," which states: "None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.*" That hadith may be found in Sahih Al-Bukhari, one of the most respected collections of the Prophet Muhammad's statements and actions. >>> | Thursday, February 5, 2009
*Yes, but did you notice what the Hadith states: “None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself. “His brother”, here, meaning his brother in Islam. So who are you trying to kid, Obama? – ©Mark
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