Either or Neither

While American media pundits have wondered aloud in recent weeks if Barak Obama, his pastor, and his church have an unorthodox view of Christianity, Middle East scholar Daniel Pipes continues to wonder if Obama might have a similarly unorthodox view of Islam. In a controversial article last December, he presented evidence that Obama had actually been raised as a Muslim (despite fierce denials by the Obama campaign, the national media corps, and a host of "experts" on the subject). In a follow-up article in January Pipes confirmed the information--and then added a raft of new evidence. Now, the Indonesian Press has picked up on the story and tracked down the students and teachers who knew young Obama in the days when he was a youngster in a practicing Muslim household. All this has gone far, far beyond the category of "urban myth," "political mudslinging," or "campaign gossip." So which is it? Is Obama an apostate Christian or an apostate Muslim? Or is he neither?