Of particular interest and scrutiny has been the question of religion, mainly Islam, although during the earlier stages of the election, candidates included a Mormon and a Protestant minister. Still, it was the question of Obama's religious affiliation that attracted, and continues to attract much media attention.

The controversy surrounding Illinois Senator Barack Obama having allegedly attended a "madrassa" and the fact that he might have been a Muslim has put both the candidate and Islam on the center stage of American politics. Long debates were held over the issue of the possibility that a Muslim would be sitting in the Oval Office. Questions were asked if a Muslim could be a good president. For example, here is what Republican presidential candidate John McCain replied when asked that very question in a September 2007 interview:

"I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles … personally, I prefer someone who I know has a solid grounding in my faith. But that does not mean that I'm sure that someone who is a good Muslim would not make a good president."

For the record, a "madrassa" is simply the Arabic word for school. The question therefore should be: "Did Obama go to an Islamic madrassa?" In which case the answer is, "no."

The question that seems to bother many Americans is not so much if Senator Obama is a Muslim or not, rather, the issue is centered more on a question stemming from a disease which has been plaguing the United States ever since September 11, 2001. The disease is called Islamophobia. The symptoms consist of the false belief that everything relating to Islam is tied to terrorism.

The question of Obama's religious affiliation, in fact, came up during a roundtable discussion titled, "Islam and American Politics: Deepening the Dialogue," on Capitol Hill on Thursday. It was convened by the Community of West and Islam Dialogue of the World Economic Forum and Georgetown University.

The first question tackled by the panel composed of respected scholars and experts in theology and Islam was focused on, "How is Islam emerging in the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign?"

American Muslims are growing in numbers and as a political force. The U.S. Muslim population today is estimated to be between 2 and 3 million strong. African Americans account for only about one-third; the vast majority of the remaining are first and second generation immigrants that have come to the United States from about 70 different countries. Perhaps somewhat surprising to most Americans is the fact that the single-largest group of U.S. Muslims do not originate from the Arab world, but are rather from South Asia: Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Arabs and Iranians come in second and third place.

The U.S. Muslim populations tend to reside in or near major cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago or Detroit. They are on average better educated with about one-third holding advanced degrees, as compared to less than 10 percent of the national average. Their income is also higher than the average U.S. household income. Two-thirds of all Muslim households in the United States earn more than $50,000 per year. The U.S. median income is about $42,000 per year.

How Muslim Americans vote is of course a point of great interest to U.S. politicians. Here the situation is somewhat confusing: according to one survey 63 percent of Muslim Americans identify with the Democrats, 11 percent with the Republicans, and 26 percent consider themselves independent. However, in previous elections, the majority of Muslim Americans tended to favor the Republican platform because of the emphasis the GOP places on family values.

Obama has more going for him than his religious affiliation. It is his charisma that seems to attract voters – non-Muslims and Muslims alike, although he seems to be favored by U.S. Muslims who tend to gravitate toward him. This prompted one of the panelists to say, "Previously the Muslims gravitated toward George W. Bush. So their record of gravitating to political leaders needs to be watched very carefully."