(NSI News Source Info) June 5, 2009: That was the speech that may indeed change the world.
No one speech can, as Barack Obama himself said. But in his 5,000 words yesterday in Cairo, he laid out a path for the West and the Muslim world to walk on together, perhaps even holding hands. 
An Indian Muslim family reacts as they watch U.S. President Barack Obama deliver a speech at Cairo University, on television at their home in Calcutta, India, Thursday, June 4, 2009.
It was more of a landmark speech than the one he gave last year on race. That one saved his presidential campaign. This one might just spell the end of the post-9/11 "clash of civilizations."
More than tackling the toughest geopolitical issues of the day – Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, anti-Semitism, etc. – Obama's greatest accomplishment was cultural.
This son of a black Muslim father and a white Christian mother effectively announced the end of the culture war on Muslims that has underpinned the war on terrorism for the last eight years.
Muslims – here in North America and Europe, and there in Muslim lands – will be relieved. Islamophobes, of whom we have our share, will not be pleased.
Obama's was a Canadian message – of pluralism, of people of different faiths and cultures finding ways to live in harmony.
In fact, some of his most ringing pronouncements echoed last year's report of the Quebec commission on reasonable accommodation.
With his trademark ability to see both sides of every issue, Obama was, by turns, empathetic of both Arabs and Jews, and equally tough on Muslims and the West.
He was a heralder of new beginnings, but only on conditions of reciprocity.
Speaking "as clearly and plainly as I can," he said that while Afghanistan was a war of necessity, Iraq was indeed "a war of choice." The U.S. will get out of both, eventually, keeping no permanent bases.
But Muslims must confront extremists, who've killed "people of different faiths – more than any other, they've killed Muslims."
He went after intolerant Muslims. "Among some Muslims, there's a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of somebody else's faith. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld, whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt."
Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear power, but not weapons.
Denying the Holocaust (as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad does) is "baseless, ignorant and hateful."
America's bond with Israel is "unbreakable."
He will pursue a two-state solution. "It is undeniable that the Palestinian people, Muslims and Christians, have suffered ... The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable." Yes, there is a "continued humanitarian crisis in Gaza." But "Palestinians must abandon violence." Hamas, especially.
It was an intelligent, balanced speech, which allowed him to walk through several political minefields. But his biggest, most immediate achievement was to have shot down several staples of post-9/11 anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Rejecting the clash of civilizations theory, he said "Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism – it is an important part of promoting peace."
Unlike those who equate the Muslim holy book to Mein Kampf or who invoke it selectively to fan hatred, Obama quoted from the "Holy Qur'an" five times.
In sharp contrast to the populist tone of recent years, he was respectful of Islam and Muslims.
He started by greeting the audience with the Islamic salutation, Assalam-o-alaikum, peace be with you. When mentioning Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, he followed the Muslim tradition of adding, "peace be upon them."
He noted "civilization's debt to Islam," saying it was Muslims who "paved the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment," developed algebra, pens and printing, and the understanding of how disease spreads and how to heal it.
"Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires, timeless poetry and cherished music, elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation."
He invoked "Islam's proud tradition of tolerance," and especially racial equality, citing the cosmopolitan Muslim rule in Spain.
He noted that the tensions between the West and the Muslim world precede 9/11. They are weighed down by a history of "religious wars" (the Crusades); by "colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims;" and the Cold War "in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies."
He defended the hijab, but from the point of view of a liberal democracy. "Freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion ... That is why the U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it."
Without naming France, which banned the hijab in schools, or those on both the right and the left, who mock the hijab, he said:
"It is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit, for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We can't disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretense of liberalism." And, "I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal."
He could've been quoting from Quebec's Taylor-Bouchard commission report.
An Indian Muslim family reacts as they watch U.S. President Barack Obama deliver a speech at Cairo University, on television at their home in Calcutta, India, Thursday, June 4, 2009.
It was more of a landmark speech than the one he gave last year on race. That one saved his presidential campaign. This one might just spell the end of the post-9/11 "clash of civilizations."
More than tackling the toughest geopolitical issues of the day – Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, anti-Semitism, etc. – Obama's greatest accomplishment was cultural.
This son of a black Muslim father and a white Christian mother effectively announced the end of the culture war on Muslims that has underpinned the war on terrorism for the last eight years.
Muslims – here in North America and Europe, and there in Muslim lands – will be relieved. Islamophobes, of whom we have our share, will not be pleased.
Obama's was a Canadian message – of pluralism, of people of different faiths and cultures finding ways to live in harmony.
In fact, some of his most ringing pronouncements echoed last year's report of the Quebec commission on reasonable accommodation.
With his trademark ability to see both sides of every issue, Obama was, by turns, empathetic of both Arabs and Jews, and equally tough on Muslims and the West.
He was a heralder of new beginnings, but only on conditions of reciprocity.
Speaking "as clearly and plainly as I can," he said that while Afghanistan was a war of necessity, Iraq was indeed "a war of choice." The U.S. will get out of both, eventually, keeping no permanent bases.
But Muslims must confront extremists, who've killed "people of different faiths – more than any other, they've killed Muslims."
He went after intolerant Muslims. "Among some Muslims, there's a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of somebody else's faith. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld, whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt."
Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear power, but not weapons.
Denying the Holocaust (as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad does) is "baseless, ignorant and hateful."
America's bond with Israel is "unbreakable."
He will pursue a two-state solution. "It is undeniable that the Palestinian people, Muslims and Christians, have suffered ... The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable." Yes, there is a "continued humanitarian crisis in Gaza." But "Palestinians must abandon violence." Hamas, especially.
It was an intelligent, balanced speech, which allowed him to walk through several political minefields. But his biggest, most immediate achievement was to have shot down several staples of post-9/11 anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Rejecting the clash of civilizations theory, he said "Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism – it is an important part of promoting peace."
Unlike those who equate the Muslim holy book to Mein Kampf or who invoke it selectively to fan hatred, Obama quoted from the "Holy Qur'an" five times.
In sharp contrast to the populist tone of recent years, he was respectful of Islam and Muslims.
He started by greeting the audience with the Islamic salutation, Assalam-o-alaikum, peace be with you. When mentioning Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, he followed the Muslim tradition of adding, "peace be upon them."
He noted "civilization's debt to Islam," saying it was Muslims who "paved the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment," developed algebra, pens and printing, and the understanding of how disease spreads and how to heal it.
"Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires, timeless poetry and cherished music, elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation."
He invoked "Islam's proud tradition of tolerance," and especially racial equality, citing the cosmopolitan Muslim rule in Spain.
He noted that the tensions between the West and the Muslim world precede 9/11. They are weighed down by a history of "religious wars" (the Crusades); by "colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims;" and the Cold War "in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies."
He defended the hijab, but from the point of view of a liberal democracy. "Freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion ... That is why the U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it."
Without naming France, which banned the hijab in schools, or those on both the right and the left, who mock the hijab, he said:
"It is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit, for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We can't disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretense of liberalism." And, "I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal."
He could've been quoting from Quebec's Taylor-Bouchard commission report.
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