Secret Muslim

Author says: what if Barack Obama was an archbishop in an America which was still a British colony? muses Eric Lipps. Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).

Chicago's Archbishop Barack Obama was arrested in Boston at a conference of the North American archbishops of the Anglican Church, which was attended by the highest officials of the British Empire's established church from every province of the United Commonwealths of America, and detained pending questioning as to suspected leanings toward the Muslim faith of Britain's arch-enemy, the Ottoman Empire.

Obama was the son of a North American-born mother and a native of British East Africa who had emigrated to the Sandwich Islands. The elder Obama and his wife, née Ann Stanley Dunham, separated in 1960 and divorced in 1964.

Personally, I'd say that OTL's Obama operates on the following creed: "There is no God, and Obama is His Prophet." - reader's commentThe younger Obama then spent years with his mother in Indonesia, where he encountered Muslims for the first time at school. Under the policies of Britain's colonial authorities, Muslims in Indonesia were permitted education alongside Anglicans, as were Catholics and Jews, a practice considered dangerously radical by many old-line conservatives faithful to the spirit of England's first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. That exposure would form much of the basis for the charges of religious disloyalty brought against the younger Obama at his trial before the Inquiry in November of 2004.

"Sounds like he may be able to push for Reform of a tyrannical Church, perhaps a new Martin Luther" - reader's commentAlthough formally acquitted of the charge of secret Muslimhood, Obama would be stripped of his office and placed on the Inquiry's index of suspect persons, subject to routine surveillance. In 2008, the surveillance would be lifted and Obama would be removed from the Inquiry's watch list, allowing him to apply for a position as a theology professor at Chicago's prestigious King Henry University. An appeal to ecclesiastical authorities to restore his clerical rank was ongoing as of September 2010.

Author says in our history, Obama, then an Illinois state legislator running for election to the U.S. Senate, delivered the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. That speech is widely credited with launching him as a national political figure and making possible his run for the presidency in 2008. The charge that he is a "secret Muslim", unfortunately, is not confined to some parallel universe but is made by many of his conservative foes in our world. No evidence has ever been provided that this charge is any truer here than in the Archbishop's timeline.As for his academic career, in this more secular world Obama has taught as a law professor at the University of Chicago. To view guest historian's comments on this post please visit the Today in Alternate History web site.

Imagine what would be, if history had occurred a bit differently. Who says it didn't, somewhere? These fictional news items explore that possibility. Possibilities such as America becoming a Marxist superpower, aliens influencing human history in the 18th century and Teddy Roosevelt winning his 3rd term as president abound in this interesting fictional blog.