MASON CITY, Iowa — Democrat Barack Obama on Sunday confronted one of the persistent falsehoods circulating about him on the Internet. He went to church.
His attendance here at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, with the news media in tow, was as much an observation of faith as it was a rejoinder to the e-mailed rumors that he is a Muslim and poses a threat to the security of the United States.
Obama did not address the rumors, but told the congregation how he joined Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago two decades ago while working as a community organizer.
Obama is known to invoke religious references in his speeches and has said he has a “personal relationship” with Jesus Christ. He often has said that religion has a place in public life and that faith and politics are not exclusively the domain of conservatives.
Obama staffers and volunteers say they periodically encounter voters who say they cannot support Obama because he is Muslim, a claim that has been making its way through Internet sites and blogs since he announced his candidacy for president. Aides say he regularly attends church on Sundays, even while on the road, but without the news media watching.
Earlier this month, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign forced the resignation of two Iowa volunteer coordinators who had forwarded e-mails that tried to tie him to Islamic jihadists.
The Illinois Democrat, whose middle name is Hussein, was born in Hawaii and moved to Indonesia at age 6 to live with his mother and stepfather, who was Muslim. He left Indonesia when he was 10 and returned to Hawaii to live with his mother’s parents.
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