Barack Obama for Muslims?

Today, Barack Obama, a US Senator from Illinois, has setup an exploratory committee to run for the office of the President of the United States. To us Muslims, just like any other such time, the pressing question will be about his position when it comes to civil rights in general, and specifically about his stance in dealing with issues that pertain to Muslims. What has struck me special about this candidate (and what has sparked the nation’s interest in him as well) is about his new approach in dealing with political issues. On his site, Barack mentions about himself as

“a potential candidate who has long championed the notion of an independent office of public integrity that would take over some of the self-policing duties of the Senate ethics committee.”

On another note, a "rumor" or story (whatever you want to call it) about Barack’s background needs to be mentioned here. The story is that his middle initial “H” stands for Hussein and that his father was a Muslim from Ethiopia. Whether true or not and the significance of such will remain to be seen in the weeks and months.