Obama’s Dangerous Rhetoric on Islam and America
By pm317 on April 10, 2009 at 10:45 AM in Current Affairs
During Obama’s recent European vacation, the rest of the world got a cheerleader in him, but not America. What did we get?
Setting aside the rhetorical question for a moment, let us talk about Obama’s portrayal of America to the Muslim world. When we start a dialog on an international stage geared toward one particular group, the person with the megaphone had better be extraordinarily careful about what he says about himself, his country and the group in question.
Obama has been making a concerted effort in the name of soft power to woo the Muslim world. He gave his first formal interview as President to the the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya Network. Recently he spoke at the Turkish parliament, his first speech in a predominantly Muslim nation.
Some of what he has said is sentimentally good just as good as motherhood and apple pie. Many Americans welcome those sentimental notions wholeheartedly. Why not? We are a tolerant nation of many religions with a secular constitution.
The Muslim world apparently is also very pleased with his words. Why not? They got absolved of all their responsibility in their silence and complacency toward terrorism emanating from their own compatriots and religious zealots.
About the nature and content of Obama’s discourse, what perplexes me is who he is talking to and where was the need to start this dialogue now. For instance, it seems like he is redefining what was “war on terror” as “war on Islam” which it never was. I could see rebranding the war on terror as war on Islam helping the perpetrators of terrorism and their supporters but why would it help the US? Does acknowledging now that we are not at war with Islam indicate that we once were and we are not anymore? It is truly deceiving to trick the mind to think “war on terror” and “war on Islam” on the same level. Why would he even use a phrase like war on Islam? I am truly puzzled at this new version of soft power and diplomacy.
The perpetrators of 9/11 and other terror atrocities around the world used Islam as their motivation. You had to strain to hear protests and condemnation from Muslim countries. They justified the atrocities as a response to American domination. Obama is addressing these same Muslim communities at large by agreeing with them, flattering them. How is that not seen as appeasement by the perpetrators of terrorism and their supporters? How does it help when he refers to America in less than flattering terms?
There is a certain vainglory to Obama’s words even when he lauds America. For instance, in the speech he gave before the Turkish parliament, he says “[snip] Robust minority rights let societies benefit from the full measure of contributions from all citizens. I say this as the president of a country that not very long ago made it hard for somebody who looks like me to vote, much less be president of the United States. [snip]” This is not the first time he has said words to that effect and not necessarily in a celebratory way but more as a reflection of self-glory. Why not just be magnanimous and celebrate his election to office as a natural progression of history given the generosity of the American spirit? Wouldn’t it reflect well on the country he is given the honor to represent if he stops parading himself as some grand exhibit?
The same subtle denigration of America has continued on more than one occasion when he talks about the relationship between America and the Muslim world at large. Here is a passage from his speech to Turkish Parliament which makes me uncomfortable:
I know there have been difficulties these last few years. I know that the trust that binds us has been strained, and I know that strain is shared in many places where the Muslim faith is practiced. Let me say this as clearly as I can: the United States is not at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject.
But I also want to be clear that America’s relationship with the Muslim work cannot and will not be based on opposition to al Qaeda. Far from it. We seek broad engagement based upon mutual interests and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, bridge misunderstanding, and seek common ground. We will be respectful, even when we do not agree. And we will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better – including my own country. The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their family, or have lived in a Muslim-majority country – I know, because I am one of them.
There he said it — “the United States is not at war with Islam.” By acknowledging a false premise in the guise of refuting it, he is redefining what was war on terror as war on Islam which it never was. He is engaged in a dangerous rhetorical conflation, as Truthteller put it. He is giving credence to people who willingly misconstrue Bush’s war on terror as something against Muslims and their religion. He speaks of strain and lack of trust with people of that faith. By twisting words to his maximum utility so he could come out the savior, he is ascribing new and unfounded blame and responsibility to America. Even Bush was careful not to make it a war on some religion even though the Muslim world wanted to call it that for their own nefarious purposes. And to assume that false responsibility now, Obama is throwing away the American prestige, dignity, and above all its humanity. In plain terms, it is as if he is telling the Muslims, “I am not like them and I will make it right for you and it is true that they screwed you.”
How in the world is that going to help America? Bashing Bush is one thing but not at the expense of American people and their culture of tolerance. Call Bush’s Iraq war for what it is and leave it at that. Conflating it with phrases like war with Islam is a particularly bad strategy, not to mention the unnecessary speeches singling out that religious faith and its followers. The direction Obama is pursuing seems rife with unintended consequences and he comes off being self-centered and vainglorious, not to mention weak. What is he apologizing for with his speeches before Muslim audience? Or does he think that if he bashed America enough that they will put down their guns and choose peace over violence just for his sake?
Aside from the ambivalence and the juvenile attempt at soft power, I also noticed historical inaccuracies in the same passage quoted above: “And we will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better – including my own country.” Here is Robert Spencer’s interesting rebuttal on that:
Undeniably the Islamic faith has done a great deal to shape the world – a statement that makes no value judgment about exactly how it has shaped the world. It has formed the dominant culture in what is known as the Islamic world for centuries. But what on earth could Obama mean when he says that Islam has also “done so much” to shape his own country?
Unless he considers himself an Indonesian, Obama’s statement was extraordinarily strange. After all, how has the Islamic faith shaped the United States? Were there Muslims along Paul Revere’s ride, or standing next to Patrick Henry when he proclaimed, “Give me liberty or give me death”? Were there Muslims among the framers or signers of the Declaration of Independence, which states that all men – not just Muslims, as Islamic law would have it – are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Were there Muslims among those who drafted the Constitution and vigorously debated its provisions, or among those who enumerated the Bill of Rights, which guarantees – again in contradiction to the tenets of Islamic law – that there should be no established national religion, and that the freedom of speech should not be infringed? [snip]
Surveying the whole tapestry of American history, one would be hard-pressed to find any significant way in which the Islamic faith has shaped the United States in terms of its governing principles and the nature of American society. Meanwhile, there are numerous ways in which, if there had been a significant Muslim presence in the country at the time, some of the most cherished and important principles of American society and law may have met fierce resistance, and may never have seen the light of day. [snip]
His statement was either careless or ignorant, or both – not qualities we need in a Commander-in-Chief even in the best of times.
Flattery from being careless or ignorant, or both may massage the ego of some in the Muslim world but it certainly does not lend credence to his position.
On the one hand, we have the hypocrisy that Obama pretends to be a devoted Christian and hides his Muslim heritage to get elected. On the other hand, when craving adulation from the Muslim world he touts his Muslim heritage while denigrating American culture of tolerance and secularism. Perfect, since he got away with both.
Now imagine if he had embraced his Muslim heritage and his race (or should I say, half race?) proudly without calling anyone racist for the mere mention of those facts, and he still got elected because of his own merits and accomplishments, what a truly magnificent statement that would have made about America to the rest of the world. I firmly believe that America would have elected such a person without that person having to have resorted to chicanery, thievery, and plain old obfuscation to get elected. We will never know for sure now. That will be the shameful legacy Obama will leave behind — a historical but undeserving presidency.
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