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closeFORT MILL ‹ The phone at Town Hall was ringing off the hook Monday following revelations over the weekend that Fort Mill Mayor Danny Funderburk passed along a chain e-mail suggesting Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama is the biblical Antichrist.
It was also generating a firestorm of criticism of the first-term mayor across the Web, with readers of sites such as DalyKos ripping into Funderburk in less than pleasant terms.
Reached Monday afternoon, Funderburk said he sent the e-mail to a small group of family and friends because issues revolving around Obama's religious leanings and political beliefs had come up among that group in conversation. He maintains he was "just curious" about it.
"I do have questions about Barack Obama and his political and religious leanings," Funderburk said. "I know he went to a Wahabbi Muslim school and that's the most radical kind of Islam."
Wahabbi is the strand of Islam preached and practiced by the Saudi Arabians and is among the most restrictive on women's rights. Saudi women are not allowed to drive and must be accompanied by a male family member anytime they leave the house.
"I know how ingrained my faith is and I'm just curious how he could walk away from it," Funderburk said. "The way they indoctrinate their youth is way more intense than anything we do."
The e-mail has attracted attention from local residents and people who read about it online following a story that was broadcast Sunday on NBC TV's Charlotte affiliate.
"We've had a number of phone calls about it," Town Manager David Hudspeth said. "But it's not an overwhelming number of calls. We're still able to conduct city business."
According to a copy of the message obtained by the Fort Mill Times, last Thursday, Funderburk forwarded an e-mail that asks readers to consider whether or not Obama is he Antichrist to at least five other people. The message claims the book of Revelations says "The Anti-christ [sic] will Be a man, in his 40's, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with Persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says That people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace."
The message, which is signed by a Dr. John Tisdale, has been debunked by several Web sites, including snopes.com. Obama has said on numerous occasions that he is a Christian. Sen. John McCain, the Republican candidate, has also claims to be a Christian. Additionally, Islam would not become a religion until more than 500 years after the Book of Revelations was written, so there were no Muslims when John was penning the volume.
The Times received close to a dozen e-mails from across the country about it as well.
Joan Mrotek of Illinois was one of several people who e-mailed the newspaper Monday morning.
"Was he REALLY the best person you could find for the job of mayor? I would NEVER, ever consider visiting your city with a racist like this person in the top job," Mrotek wrote.
Beverly Tatum of Waxhaw, N.C., wrote that Funderburk should resign or be fired. He should also apologize to Obama, Tatum wrote, and go home and re-read his Bible. Funderburk¹s forwarded e-mail distorts the Book of Revelations, she added.
"Barack Obama is an American-born Christian man," Tatum wrote. "Shame on your Mayor for making Fort Mill look like a typical southern racist redneck town!"
Neither Obama nor anyone at his S.C. campaign office responded to an interview request.
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