Obama cracks the code to reach Islam
By Roula Khalaf
Published: June 4 2009 18:37 | Last updated: June 4 2009 20:05
No wonder extremist leaders were nervous ahead of Barack Obama’s landmark
address in Cairo, frantically firing off warnings to Muslims not to fall for
his words.
For years the likes of Osama bin Laden have claimed to speak on behalf of
oppressed Muslim communities as they perverted the message of Islam and
exploited the conflicts in the Middle East to stoke fear and violence.
But Mr Obama took them on, not with threats to “smoke them out” or warnings
that “you are with us or against us”, but with eloquence, authority, a deep
grasp of Muslim history and an understanding of Muslim grievances.
Opening with a broad smile and the Muslim greeting of “Assalum Alaykum”
(peace be upon you), Mr Obama drew on his family ties to Islam (mentioning
his middle name Hussein) and his respect for Islamic civilisation to present
himself as a credible interlocutor eager to end the “cycle of suspicion and
discord”.
Rarely, if ever, has an American leader drawn so much applause from an
audience in the Muslim world, or dared to quote the Koran so often (the only
glitch in Mr Obama’s speech, and it was minor, was to refer to the Muslim
headscarf, which he defended, as a hajib, rather than a hijab). The audience,
selected by the US to include friends and foes of America, gave Mr Obama a
standing ovation.
Throughout the speech his message was the US was neither weak nor looking to
appease its enemies but would act with fairness and on the basis of mutual
respect.
Yes, the US has made mistakes, he said, acknowledging it had played a role in
the 1953 coup in Iran that overthrew a democratically elected government. But
he insisted that “we must not be prisoners” of the past.
If there was a magic list of words his audience wanted to hear, he delivered
it. He spoke of the pain of colonialism, the suffering of Palestinians under
occupation (their situation was “intolerable”), and the need for Israel to
stop expanding settlements.
He underlined the US’s resolve to withdraw from Iraq and, eventually
Afghanistan, without leaving “military bases”, countering deeply held
suspicions in the region. And he highlighted a continued commitment to “
democracy” and the rule of law, even as he warned that no country should
impose its model of governance on another.
But he stated bluntly the US bond with Israel was “unbreakable” and called
on Palestinians and Arab governments to contribute to the search for peace
and choose “progress” over the “self-defeating” policies of the past.
With the change of tone from the Bush years, and the gracious delivery – the
word “terrorism” did not even feature – Mr Obama has started turning the
page on eight years in which the “war on terror” was perceived by Muslims
as an attack on Islam.
Even before the speech, there were signs that thanks to his personal appeal,
the US’s battered image in the Arab world was starting to improve. There
were also hints that in Iran, for example, Mr Obama was perceived by the
regime as more threatening than George W. Bush because of his ability to
present a more moderate face of America.
But the speech also poses risks for Mr Obama. While he addressed masterfully
the conflicting pressures the US faces in the region, he will find
translating them into coherent policies far more challenging, if not
impossible.
Mr Obama called for a joint effort to create a world where extremists no
longer threatened Americans, US troops returned home, Israelis and
Palestinians lived in secure states of their own, and nuclear energy was used
only for peaceful purposes. It is an ambitious vision that would transform
the Middle East, but it raises expectations far beyond the US’s ability to
deliver.
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Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0e8e6b2c-512c-11de-84c3-00144feabdc0.html
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