UPDATE: On President Barack Obama’s Speech in Cairo (MM Writers’ Thoughts)

Thoughts from some MM Writers are below (as per our modus operandi, views expressed represent only the specific author, not the entire MM staff or any other writer):

• Iesa Galloway
• Dr. Ali Shehata
• Mohamed Elibiary
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Iesa Galloway

A Public Relations view of Obama’s Speech:

Rhetorically, the speech was beautiful. Its delivery had a sense of sincerity, understanding and statesmanship rarely seen in the region. Strategically, it was also executed with precision.

The speech itself was truly groundbreaking in many ways, especially on Israel and on American adventurism in the region. Obama’s mention of the plight of Islamic Charities and that U.S. Muslims are empowered to protect their rights was truly refreshing. However, Obama's policies are what they are. We should not over look the differences between his campaign pledges and his inability to garner the support of his own party to close Gitmo. We should also not forget his recanting on the release of the torture photos and his numerous continuations of Bush area policies.

The key to this historic speech is that Obama clearly positioned himself as the opposite of Bin Laden or groups ideologically aligned with Al Qaeda and doing so it was a brilliant P.R. move for him to have Al Azhar co-sponsor the event. So was having numerous Azhari Scholars so visible in the first rows. For Al Ahzar, it was incredibly important to participate as it is widely recognized as the preeminent institution and leader of Islamic learning. However, Al Azhar’s participation helped Obama’s positioning with what many may assume as religious acceptance of all the speech’s content, beyond the anti-clash of civilizations theme.

The Obama message was simple, we (America and Islam) are not at war, and you Muslims should choose non-violence ala MLK and Ghandi in order to be with Obama. Or we can choose the opposite. This of course is much more sophisticated than an axis of evil declaration, yet equally sweeping of the complexities of the region, the conflicts and the long road to real solutions. It is definitely progress for people to hear that Islam is not the source of and should not be held hostage to every Muslim group’s actions and interpretations. However, our response should be to promote and empower our own leaders by seizing the moment rather merely enjoying it.

In some ways I see the speech as a move to make this administration’s Pakistan policies more palatable. One goal of the speech may have been to at least pacify the reaction towards continuing as previously planned in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan in particular is an important issue for Obama he has to appear strong militarily in order to ease pressure in the U.S. Furthermore, going after Al Qaeda is his ticket to reduce U.S. forces in Iraq, thus Pakistan is a tool, an ends to a means.

Obama used Israel/Palestine as a pointed example of were violent resistance has been failing and ineffective. He more than likely won the hearts many Arab and Muslim educated elites (one of Obama's primary target audiences) via an argument easily seen as “this worked for my people back home.” The speech allows these elites to feel better about their inaction on the Palestine issue, which of course will endear him to them. However, the point seemed unqualified. As if the real message was there was no just war or reason for military resistance at any hotspot where Muslim lands or people are being attacked.

It is important to realize the strategic importance of delivering his message in Egypt, the center of the Arab world and the traditional trendsetter of the Muslim world. I was impressed that Obama felt as confident as he did, for example promoting democracy while in Egypt and while the Muslim world has recently as well as historically seen the U.S. attempt to undermine democratically elected Muslim governments.

Many Muslims are sensing and/or reacting to this confidence, as Obama is assuming a lot of conditioned leadership of Muslims. In other words, is he possibly paving the way for a continued status quo? If violence continues in Palestine, Obama has an out. If the nonviolent path is not followed Obama can use it as an excuse to avoid pushing Israel in the peace process. This is a relatively safe assumption once we take into consideration the situation of the Palestinian people and the multitude of factions on the ground, and the fact that each assumes their own leadership, independence and has different motives.

I do appreciate the groundbreaking nature of the speech. However, I am weary that our President’s words and actions could yet again be at odds. I am also worried that many of us will be caught grinning as things remain the same.

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Dr. Ali Shehata

Alhamdulillah.

When listening and trying to assess the President's words from his historic Cairo speech, we have to have the correct frame of reference. Some people seem to want to judge him as if he were a Muslim and as such their focus is on the oppressive acts of the Bush/Cheney regime and issues like walaa and baraa. I personally think that we have to view President Obama as one would have viewed one of the Chiefs of Quraish or Byzantium during the lifetime of the Prophet (saas) or the rightly guided Khulafaa. It is well documented in the seerah that there were in fact people among the disbelievers whom the Prophet (saas) respected greatly, like Mut'im ibn 'Adi for example, and the respect paid to the Patriarch of Jerusalem by Umar ibnul Khattab. While they may be at odds with Muslims to some degree, that does not detract from the good they seek to do and the gestures of respect they make towards us.

As for Mut'im ibnu Ad'i, I believe that a strong argument can be presently made that Obama is offering Muslims an opportunity to change the condition of their lands. Mut'im ibn Ad'i was still a Qurashite and still a member of those who stood by while the Prophet (saas) and his early followers were persecuted. He is no different than any current western leader who wishes better for Muslims but is also well aware of his limitations and the limits of his own people's understanding and mentality. I see that at least Obama is making strides in trying to change that perspective and once others stand by his side, that at that point in time, more significant changes have the potential to be made on the ground level.

Furthermore, The President's efforts yesterday may well be likened to seeking a peace with the Muslim world, and as such, Allah orders us in the Quran to accept such an effort by saying what means:

But if they incline to peace, you also incline to it, and (put your) trust in Allâh. Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower. And if they intend to deceive you, then verily, Allâh is All-Sufficient for you. He it is Who has supported you with His Help and with the believers. [8:61-62]

Ibn Kathir mentions in regard to thiese ayaat, “Allah says, conduct a peace treaty with those who incline to peace, and trust in Allah. Verily, Allah will suffice for you and aid you even if they resort to peace as a trick, so that they gather and reorganize their forces …”. And it has been recorded on the authority of Ali ibn Abi Taalib that the Prophet (saas) said, “There will be disputes after me, so if you have a way to end them in peace, then do so.” (Ahmad – Sahih)

It would be unreasonable to expect Obama to erase or reverse eight years of Bush policy in a few months, but he is already ardently working to erase the hatred that was bred by that administration. His speech risks a great amount of criticism here in the US by conservatives and others opposed to a positive image for Islam, and I think that his efforts should be appreciated and lauded for their boldness and potential benefit to many around the world. This doesn't mean that we will rest on these words and not expect action, but anyone who has been in a leadership position understands that dramatic actions require a sort of preparing the ground before the action behind those words will be ready to be implemented. As such, I personally was happy to hear his words and accepted his efforts and ask Allah that they lead to peace in those regions where war and oppresive policy have become commonplace over the past years. Wallahu ta'aala a'lam.

I can also see that there are a lot of confusing things happening in Afghanistan and Pakistan these days that even Muslim scholars in the region are opposed to and displeased with.

I for one do not have a trusted and unbiased news source to follow for events in the region, but if it is like Iraaq – then there are significant violations on both sides of the equation and it is not a simple black and white issue by any means. I am absolutely not in support of those who call themselves mujahideen but spill the blood of Muslims in a careless manner more than 75% of the time. I cannot blame the western governments in a blanket manner for their involvement when they can convincingly and effectively justify their actions to a global audience. If we ignore this, we can only do so by presuming that we are the only people on earth with our eyes open and that everyone else is clueless (politically speaking, not spiritually).

Some have called Obama an apostate; that is a serious accusation that I doubt anyone can really prove. One would have to prove clearly that he actually was a consciously practicing Muslim at some point who renegaded. That would be an even greater challenge considering his non-practicing Muslim direct family members.

Sh. Ja'far Idrees discussed a similar concept in his last lesson and message to the Muslims in the US which I had the honor and privilege to attend. His idea was equally disregarded by many in the room. I understood the practicality of his message and this is the same practicality that I see in the Hudaibiyyah treaty. The Prophet (saas) understood the reality of the circumstances of the Ummah and he acted accordingly, which was termed a manifest victory by Allah.

I don't honestly see what Obama “needs” from Muslims, and certainly he could have continued Bush policy by continuing to marginalize us. He hasn't and this provides us with room to get involved and to help direct outcomes which are of benefit to Muslims. Continuing to stonewall him and disregard him as if he doesn't matter is not logical to me at all and detrimental to the interests of Muslims world-wide. Making an effort to work with him has not been attempted and as a result we do not know the outcome.

What is the most immediate outcome of his speech thus far? That people are hearing a new message that they haven't heard in a long time – that Islam is not the enemy. Yes, Bush may have used similar words at one point or another, but this message was lost in the vast majority of the anti-Islamic messages his administration was promoting. This is what I am hearing from non-Muslims and not speculation. We have the choice to now see how far this goes or to just reject it like we always do and continue to get pummeled. I sincerely and firmly believe that the lessons of the Seerah provide us with ample precedent to accept this invitation and to seek the best from Allah. And Allah knows best.

I really am not in a position Islamically or otherwise to argue any further. I can see that some people will always see the glass as half full and I wish only to be optimistic as the Prophet (saas) had instructed us to do and to do whatever is in my very limited scope to use any and every opportunity presented to us to save any life of a Muslim and their dignity in the process. I am glad that this perspective has been adopted by those much more knowledgeable than me in Islam and more experienced than me in life, wal-hamdulillah; and I ask Allah to continually guide me and every Muslim to that which is most correct and most pleasing to Him – ameen, was-salaam alaikum.

Dr. Ali Shehata

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Mohamed Elibiary

This speech was a milestone in numerous ways and it should be celebrated, not least of which is because of the Muslim eyes that weighed in on its drafting that we don't necessarily want to see paraded in public as a community. My hope is that Muslims can set aside some two very important knee-jerk reactions.

The first is to be star struck by the temporary popularity the President currently commands and assume it reveals more than is politically feasible at the moment.

The second is to be become dhimmis in reverse and follow the path of reconciliation laid out by the President hook, line and sinker. Politics is about the art of the possible, and that's a fact often forgotten by many Muslims who take their faith seriously.  The President should be commended for two very strong points, one reaching out on the Muslim charities issue and the other at the beginning of his speech recognizing how majority Muslim nations were handled in a paternalistic way during the Cold War, a fact I wrote about it here beginning with the Eisenhower Doctrine continuing through today.

Many Muslims will instead focus on the Israel-Palestine centered commentary in the President's speech. The Muslim ummah today is in a weakened political state, a fact none deny; but yet it has assets of soft power to impact western democracies like at no time before in history that remains underutilized.

Success for the Palestinian cause will not come from them totally adopting a 100% non-violent stand in all circumstances and just appeal to the consciousness of their oppressors. Nor will the Arab and Muslim world find all their dreams met by sweetening the deal as the President requested to see the Arab Peace Initiative as a start to future compromises.

As one who spent the morning of the President's speech at a major DC Think Tank debating Counter-Radicalization Policy in this Administration, a celebrated small rhetorical change in this speech by Security Policy Strategists very close to the Administration and overlooked in the media was dropping the phrase “Muslim World” to instead using “Muslim communities”.

So it behooves us as Muslims to be cautious and understand that there are sophisticated forces at play still pursuing the same foreign policy objectives all people of conscience including Muslims naturally oppose, and that they're trying the honey method to simply divide the Muslim opposition globally using the ageless cultural battle on whether religion should play a role in the policy making or simply be a manifestation of personal life. I think that as Muslims we should celebrate the new rhetoric from the White House, but also not fall into the pitfall of dividing amongst ourselves as Muslims on who's leadership to follow. Obama is not the leader of Muslims, never has and never will be; he's the President of the United States government. There is no shortcut, if Muslims desire the world's respect then they have to politically organize themselves around their “Muslim” identity. Nothing has changed … a great deal of our foreign intelligence operations are still spent on disinformation campaigns.

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Related Posts:

• President Barack Obama’s Speech to the Muslim World in Cairo (Co-Sponsored by Al-Azhar)
• Honeymoon's Over: Critical review of Obama's Admin
• Obama To Continue Iraq Occupation
• The Message the Muslim World Was Waiting For – Nafees Syed
• Obama Orders Missile Strikes in Pakistan
• Thank President Obama for Closing Guantanamo
• Presidential Inaugaration: Letter from Dr. Mahathir to Obama

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