Republican leader says Obama is a Christian not Muslim

Washington, Aug 23 (ANI): As US President Barack Obama continues to combat rumours that he is secretly a Muslim, a leading Republican weighed in on the controversy in his favour saying, he is a "Christian."

"The president says he's a Christian. I take him at his word," The New York Daily News quoted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, as saying.

"I think the faith that most Americans are questioning is the President's faith in the government to generate jobs," he diplomatically stated.

Obama has repeatedly said that he is a Christian and prays regularly, but more Americans than ever have raised doubts over his beliefs.

A recent Time Magazine poll found that 24 percent of Americans believe Obama is a Muslim.

Earlier, prominent evangelical leader Reverend Franklin Graham added to the confusion saying, "I think the president's problem is that he was born a Muslim. His father was a Muslim, the seed of Islam is passed through the father...Now it's obvious that the president has renounced the prophet Mohammed and Islam. The Islamic world sees the President as one of theirs."

"But Obama has accepted Jesus Christ. That's what he says he has done. So I just have to believe that the president is what he has said," he added.

Obama, however, claimed that his father, who he only knew as an infant, was an atheist. He assured that his time as President has only served to deepen his commitment to Christianity. (ANI)