"Obama never studied in an Islamic madrassa"

Rully Dasaad, a fellow pupil at Barack Obama's primary school - labeled as an "Islamic madrassa" by the conservative American media - tells us about their childhood growing up in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the polemic that it's causing now.

First, a look at the democratic candidate's early youth: in 1961, when Barack Obama was a baby, his parents divorced. His mother remarried with Indonesian Lolo Soetero, before moving the family to Jakarta in 1967, where Obama's half-sister Maya Soetoro was born. "Barry", as his friends called him there, was then six. The family was comfortable, but not rich enough to send the future senator to the capital's international school, where most expat children went. So Obama studied for two years at the Catholic school Fransiskus Assisis, before joining the state primary school SDN Besuki Menteng 01, where he also stayed for two years. This small state school located in a pretty district of the capital would become the centre of American media attention in January 2007, when Insight Magazine declared it an Islamic madrassa establishment. In 1971, and after four years in Asia, Barack Obama headed to Hawaii to be brought up by his grandparents. He never returned to the Indonesian islands, but his former school friends still remember him.

Post written with the help of our Observer in Jakarta, Dyssia Hayat.

His class

Photo of Obama's class (he's circled in yellow) at the Besuki Menteng 01 School, Jakarta 1970.

"He made a big effort to adapt and make friends"

Rully Dasaad was a classmate of Obama in 1970 in Jakarta:

Barack Obama, "Barry" as we called him, was always a good pupil. Always in a good mood, always smiling. He made a big effort to adapt and make friends; being different was no problem. At that time, the scout captain named Barry leader of group A. I was in that group. It was him who gave the order to stand to attention or at ease. At school we all spoke in Indonesian, and he learnt how to speak it too. He knows our language.

He spent two years at the Catholic school and so two years with us. The rumours about him attending an « Islamic Madrassa » are nothing but lies. It's just because his step-father and father are Muslim.At that time there was no mini-mosque like now [there's a small mosque inside the school now]. This school was a normal public school. There were Chinese Buddhist pupils, Hindus from Bali, Christians and Muslims. Everyone was mixed up. It was not a school reserved for Muslims, not at all. Most children from well-off families came to study at the school. Suharto's young children also went there.

We lost touch with Barry after he left. And then suddenly a few years ago a friend said to me "I saw Barry in a magazine, he's putting himself up for the presidential election". I said "are you sure?" and went to find out if it was true- which it was. We took this photo to show Barry our solidarity and support. We sent it to his office in Illinois. I'm sure Barry has great memories of Indonesia. I hope he succeeds. If he's elected president of the US, I'm sure he'll be a grand leader."

His playground

The playground of the Besuki Menteng 01 School. A small mosque has been built (on the right), but it didn’t exist when Obama attended the school.

His former school friends

Obama’s former classmates took this photo in front of their old primary school on 1 March 2008