奥巴马被两成美国民众误认为是穆斯林

根据美国皮尤研究中心的最新民调，由于美国总统奥巴马力挺在世贸遗址建清真寺，已经有多达五分之一的美国民众误认为奥巴马是一位穆斯林。

An increasing number of Americans wrongly believe that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, with nearly one in five saying he is a follower¹ of Islam, according to a new poll.

The results came days after the US president waded² into a bitter dispute over controversial plans to build a mosque³（清真寺） near the Ground Zero site of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in New York.

Speaking at an iftar（开斋） dinner held at the White House last Friday to mark the breaking of the Ramadan fast, Mr. Obama, a practicing Christian⁴, weighed in on the "local" issue, affirming the right to build on the grounds of religious freedom, though on Saturday he appeared to backtrack, saying he had not been taking a stand on the "wisdom" of doing so.

Republicans have promised to make Mr. Obama's support for the project, which is broadly opposed by a majority of the US public, though supported by a majority of New Yorkers, an issue in the upcoming elections.

On his inauguration⁵ day in January 2009, some 11 per cent of Americans believed that Mr. Obama was a Muslim. In office, Mr. Obama has highlighted the fact that his middle name is Hussein, in part to boost his credibility abroad. His father was a non-observant Muslim and his mother was a Christian-born secularist⁶（非宗教主义者） .

Nearly one in five Americans polled last week - before the president's comments on the New York mosque - believed Mr. Obama was a Muslim, according to a poll by the Pew Forum⁷ on Religion and Public Life.

The results will fuel criticism from even fellow Democrats⁸ that Mr. Obama is failing to communicate effectively who he is, which could prove damaging ahead of November's mid-term elections.

Among those who said Mr. Obama is a Muslim, 60 per cent said they learned about his religion from the media. The phenomenon is not limited to Republicans. Among independent voters, 18 per cent said he is a Muslim, up eight percentage points from the start of last year.

Mr. Obama has encountered trouble in the past with public perception of his faith, when the radical⁹ sermons（布道，说教） of his Chicago pastor¹⁰, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, were publicized just before he clinched¹¹ the Democratic presidential nomination¹².

After a much-publicized search for a church to attend in Washington, the White House said Mr. Obama had decided¹³ that his presence would disrupt an ordinary congregation, and that he would worship privately¹⁴ at Camp David, the president's weekend retreat.

This has meant that he has not been seen attending public worship services as his predecessors¹⁵ were. Polls indicate that well over half of Americans describe themselves as religiously observant and it would be almost unthinkable for a major politician to describe him or herself as an atheist¹⁶（无神论者） .

Mr Obama's religion and his place of birth have been the subjects of rumors¹⁷ and bogus（假的） facts spread via the internet. During his election campaign, Obama aides worked aggressively to rebut¹⁸（反驳，揭露） these.

But the number of people who now correctly identify Mr. Obama as a Christian has dropped to 34 per cent, down from nearly half when he took office. Joshua DuBois, Mr. Obama's faith adviser¹⁹, dismissed the "misinformation campaigns" by Mr. Obama's opponents.

"While the president has been diligent²⁰（勤勉的，用功的） and personally committed to his own Christian faith, there are certainly folks who are intent on spreading falsehoods（说谎，假话） about the president and his values and beliefs," he told the "Washington Post".