Obama's Kenyan grandmother to perform Hajj

Posted By Blake Hounshell Saturday, May 2, 2009 - 5:47 PM Share

According to Pakistani paper The News, U.S. President Barack Obama's Kenyan grandmother (actually, his father's stepmother) is headed to Mecca this year for the annual pilgrimmage. The 87-year-old Sarah Hussein Obama will be the guest of Sulaiman Al Fahim, an Abu Dhabi real estate baron:

As my own mother is no longer with us, our family has a spare place. So I invited her and she has accepted," the Hydra Properties chief executive officer was quoted as saying by Arabian Business.

During the presidential campaign, Ms. Obama denounced Hillary Clinton staffers for circulating photos of Barack in a turban. "Bringing such pictures that are trying to imply that not only is he a foreigner, he is a Muslim is wrong, because that is not what he is," she said.

The Hajj will be in late November this year.

Photo: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

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