We are used to nice words and many, in the Muslim majority countries as well as Western Muslims, have ended up not trusting the United States when it comes to political discourse. They want actions and they are right. This is indeed what our world needs. Yet, President Obama, who is very eloquent and good at using symbols, has provided us with his speech in Cairo with something that is more than simple words. It has presented an attitude, a mindset, a vision.
In order to avoid shaping a binary vision of the world, Barack Obama referred to “America”, “Islam”, “the Muslims” and “the Muslim majority countries”: he never fell into the trap of speaking about “us” as different or opposed to “them” and he was quick to refer Islam as being an American reality, and to American Muslims as being an asset to his own society. Talking about his own life, he went from the personal to the universal stating that he knows by experience that Islam is a religion whose message is one of openness and tolerance. Both the wording and the substance of his speech were important and new: he managed to be humble, self-critical, open and demanding at the same time in a message targeting all of “us”, understood as “partners”.
The seven areas he highlighted are critical. One might disagree with President Obama’s reading and interpretation of what is happening in Afghanistan, in Iraq and in Palestine (and the US role in these conflicts), but he has clearly not shied away from addressing these issues and has called all the parties to assume their share of responsibility by putting an end to violence and promoting respect and justice. He clearly acknowledged the suffering of the Palestinians and their right to a viable and independent State. It is a first necessary step: the future will tell us if the new President is in a position to be sboth trong and consistent when dealing with the Israeli government. He left open some channels to dialogue with both the Palestinian authority (calling for unity without sidelining Hamas) and Iran. These were and remain critical issues and there will be no future unless they are addressed with consistency and courage. Expectations are immense and the Barack Obama has still to demonstrate his true practical commitment to justice and peace.
President Obama made a clear distinction between democratic principles and political models. The rule of law, free choice of the people, and the obligation of transparency are universal principals. Political models on the other hand, depend on historical and cultural factors. We hope the Obama administration will put this vision into practice by both promoting democratisation everywhere and scrupulously respecting the choice of the people: beginning with Iraq and Afghanistan. As for the undisputable principals of democracy, it was appropriate that such reminder to be uttered… in Egypt, to the Egyptian Government.
Barack Obama mentioned seven issues to be addressed. He started with more political issues and quite intelligently ended with the critical areas of “women” and “education”. This is where, he reminded his audience, we will all have to do much better. In these two areas he suggested practical solutions and presented interesting projects for the future. As it faces economic crisis, doubts, fears, and global threats, the world needs women to be more involved; education must be promoted everywhere. These common challenges helped the American President, once again, to talk about an inclusive us, a “new we” so to speak, where we are partners sharing the same concerns, facing up to similar challenges, exposed to common enemies.
Mr Obama’s speech is not only directed to the Muslims around the world. The West and non-Muslims should also be listening. He spoke of acknowledging Islam’s historical contribution to science, development and thought. He wants his fellow American citizens to learn more about Islam, to be more humble and he expects that “liberals” not impose their views on practising Muslim, men and women. No one can impose a way of dressing or a way of thinking and we should learn from one another: the implicit reference to the French headscarf law was indeed quite explicit. He quoted religious texts coming from the three monotheistic faiths, each of them delivering a universal message. For true universalism is about educating one’s self, listening to and respecting the other. Two days before his speech in Cairo, Mr. Obama surprisingly stated that America was a great “Islamic country”: thus reminding Americans, as well as all Westerners, that Muslims are their fellow citizens and that Islam is a religion which is part of their common national narrative.
It was a powerful speech which was not only " a speech": it embodied a vision that is both positive and demanding. Something has surely changed. Just as Mr. Obama moved from personal to universal principles, we are waiting for him to move from ideal to practical. He is young, he is new, he is intelligent and smart: does he have the capacity for courage as well? Presidential courage is, after all, the issue as one wonders if it is possible for the United States to be simply consistent with its own values. Can one man possibly tackle and reform the extraordinary tension that drives the contemporary American mindset : on the one hand, promoting universal values and diversity while on the other nurturing a spirit that still shows some features of imperial attitude (intellectually, politically and economically). He will not be able to achieve it alone; it may weel be his greatest challengers will come from the Indians and Chinese rather than the Muslims. Yet, it remains critical to acknowledge the positive aspects of a speech that proclaims "a new beginning": it is imperative for Muslims to take Mr. Obama at his word and, instead of adopting either a passive attitude or the victim ‘s mentality to contribute to a better world by being self–critical and critical, humble and ambitious, consistent and open. The best way to push Barack Obama to face up to his responsibility in America, in the Middle East or elsewhere is for Muslims to start by facing up to their own without blindly demonising America or the West or naively idealising a charismatic African-American US President.
P.S.: A personal note : President Barack Obama wanted us “to speak the truth”. It happens that once I spoke the truth as regard to the illegal American invasion of Iraq and the blind unilateral support of America towards Israel. I have been banned from the States and still remain. It may be one of these inconsistencies that make some of us still doubt the very meaning of political words. Once again a question of consistency.
The Guardian in the UK on 3 May published an article by John McQuaid criticising the New York Times, the Washington Post, Associated Press and a range of TV news networks for failing to call torture by the US government by its proper name.
These media stand accused of sugarcoating torture with the euphemism “harsh” or “enhanced” interrogation techniques.
Barack Obama is sworn in as President of the United States on January 20. Two days later he issues an Executive Order banning torture and securing the treatment of individuals in US custody consistent with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, the Federal Torture Statute and the Convention Against Torture.
This raises the ire of the conservative media in the US. Fox News laments the Executive Order as one that conflicts with Obama’s commitment to keep Americans safe. Fox News is spewing hysterical neocon rhetoric to provoke paranoia over the banning of torture. Power and fear go hand in hand, and Fox News has played a major role in raising the level of fear and alarm among the American people. “They hate us, they hate our democracy,” is a standard mantra. “If we do nothing , they gonna get us.”
So what does this mean for our hero Obama? Do the noxious rantings and failings of fearmongering neocon media mean that Mr Obama is a friend of freedom-loving people in America and the world? Does his endearing speech this on June 4 on the soil of the Egyptian dictator make him a friend of Muslims? Does his recognition of the Golden Age of Islam make him a friend of Islam?
It is very noteworthy that, for all his skill in oratory, his callous treatment of the rights of Palestinians in his speech stood out like the missing nose on the Sphynx. What was missing is any mention of the occupation of Palestine. He could quote the Qur’an, he could call Holocaust-denial hateful, but could not recognize the basic fact of the occupation of Palestine or the rights of millions of Palestinian refugees.
Obama makes no reference to the apartheid wall and the current Israeli occupation of Greater Jerusalem which effectively disables the Palestinians economically, politically and culturally. He completely ignores Israel’s violation of international law, of Security Council resolutions and of the International Court of Justice rulings. Neither is there any mention of the Israeli separation of the West Bank from Gaza in which Palestinians are imprisoned.
Obama is a convential American leader supporting the invasion of Iraq. In 2006 he supported the Democratic nomination candidate, Joe Lieberman, who called for the invasion, against Ned Lamont, who opposed the war. So in really crude terms, Obama is just another imperialist with a re-engineered public relations profile.
He represents the nationalist and capitalist interests of America. In the empire market forces shape important things that affect the lives of ordinary people, from things like health care, housing and tertiary education to things like foregn policy. Right now America is ailing economically and Obama is administering medication to the banks and corporations, with the hope it trickles down to the masses of poor Americans. He endorsed the $700 billion bailout the Bush administration gave the American financial institutions, but he makes no move to directly support the masses who cannot afford to pay their mortgages.
Interestingly, he talks not only of getting out of Iraq, but of the mindset that got the US into Iraq in the first place. But then he lapses into talk of invading Afghanistan. The mindset that got the US into Iraq is an imperial one, using military force to impose the will of corporate American interests. It is the mindset that says everyone must welcome America bringing democracy where it matters to America, like in Iraq and Afghanistan, but not in places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia where dictatorships serve American interests. The US has military bases in more than a hundred countries due to the benefits they offer compliant governments.
Obama’s vision has not taken a new direction at all. Apart from government subsidies for the larger corporations and the banks, he has in mind the nationalisation of the financial system, the reckless printing of US dollars and the continuation of the imperial project. America is built on massive growth, the voracious consumption resources, the production of enormous waste, the spoiling of the environment and the colonisation of other people who have resources.
Now that is a terrible show to run and Obama is up for the job. He does not mean to disappoint, so if he comes along, bans torture, closes Gunatanamo and speaks ever so eloquently about Islam, equality, freedom and democracy, it begs the question: is this just a smart public relations move, or is he really going to change this world for the better?
He may seem well placed to do it, but we’ll be damned if we believe he will make a difference where it really matters to Muslims and the truly disempowered masses of the world.
It is because Obama is so significantly different from his neocon predecessors that he inspires a false hope in the hearts of ordinary progressive Americans and the masses around the world. He is somewhat less than a powerful figure, and a little more than a figure of power. The real power lies with those whose behinds he had to kiss to get there: the chief protagonists at Wall Street, the corporate giants that benefit from US foreign policy and the lobby groups like the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) whose pet project is securing the interests of Israel. These are the people who exercise real influence on Congress which has authority over financial and budgetary matters, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States.
I am sorry for you…that your heart has hardened to the possibility of change, self reflection and common ground. Your mindset is exactly what President Obama was addressing, it is a dead end. This is no conventaional presidency. Much has changed in less than four months. We are all responsible for helping to affect this change, quickly, while President Obama has political capital to spare.
i am sorry for you to be so naive….
Hi Tracey
Thanks for your response to my post.
I would like to refer you to excerpts from Obama’s address to AIPAC in which he guarantees unquestioning loyalty to Israel and draconian measures to exact compliance from Palestinians.
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=033gCiurxbg
Contrast that to his speech in Cairo.
It is difficult for a reasonable person to believe that Obama truly means to bring about meaningful change that really matters to the lives of Palestinians and the poor of the world.
He may not be a typical neocon, but he’s probably more dangerous than the devil you know because he speaks with expediency to both parties in the conflict. That is dangerous.
Brother Tariq,
I pray God that you can be President Barack Obama special advisor or work collaborator in regard to the change the President seeks to bring about to the Muslim World , mainly on the 7 seven topics he highlighted in his speech in Egypt.
As the President said in his victory speech in Chicago… »Obama being elected President is not the change that we seek but the chance for us to make that change »…I think its a unique opportunity in front of us today to dwell into the « Renaissance du monde musulman ». The President is a determined leader, illustrated when he said he will handle and lead the Middle East conflict personally with all the patience the situation demands of us….We are at a historic moment , at a ‘new beginning’.
The Unique is behind you both.
Khoda Hafiz
Salam aleikoum,
Memorable speech ! But acts must follow. Are the lives of Palestinians or Afghans going to be better because of this speech? Every body around the world is waiting for action. As you say: consistency: you’re the president of the wolrd’s most powerful country, then prove it! Not by speaking but by doing! Time will tell.
Very Thoughtful piece indeed! Thank you Prof Ramadan. Indeed Barack is only one man. May be the most powerful man in the world but still remains one man in an ever changing but vibrant country. Indeed if the Muslim world has to step up to the plate and try to resolve their own differences whether it is the Palestinian factions, the Lebanese, Algeria and Morocco just to name few conflicts that drains the resources of the Arab and Muslim Worlds. Time is not on our side. Western Muslims should also recognize that they have to organize and fast in order to help Obama’s vision become the reality. More importantly American Muslims who have the responsibility to help President Obama in his quest for a search for century old problems such as the Palestinian struggle for self determination. As it is often said in the US, there is no such thing as foreign policy everything is just domestic politics, There is a lot American Muslims can help with this regards.
Thank you for this wonderful summary of Barack Obama’s speech. Your words should be in every op-ed in major press organizations around the world.Like Obama’s words, it is a clarion call to all of us (Muslim, Christian and Jew-and others) to return to the basic principles,practice and recogognition of the universality of humanity; a reminder that we all are responsible for one another; that we are all rseponsible to give one another respect, to afford each his or her dignity and to work together for good of humanity.
One person cannot cure the ills humanity has fashioned with its own hands over eons, but if we each take a step towards one another, if we each mend a tear in the fabric of humanity, if we each seek at least the same for others as we desire for ourselves, we have a chance to prroduce that cure. If some can seek better for others than what he or she desires for themselves, so much the better.
(I was a bit taken aback to see that, after writing of the dangers of the ‘victim mnetality’ you would use the same mentality with regards to the unfortunate denial of the US State Department to grant you a visa. Just perhaps Allah has ensured you be in a more accessible place and in a position to speak and to write in more freedom than you would find at Notre Dame, although it would be wonderful if we who live in the US had the opportunity to see and to hear you wthout traveling to Canada or to Oxford.)
i dont think there is any victim mentality in what dr Ramadan said. he mentioned en passant some inconsistency and to make it more obvious used his own case..
but what you ask him to do i.e. apply for a new visa, may not be victim mentality but totally apologetic and internalisation of the US rejection. I dont think he would do that. it is the US who have to say they were wrong to deny him visa even if he is not asking to go to there again.keep some dignity…
If not having a victim mentality means you can’t adress wrongs done against you, we’re quite lost… And maybe that’s the real victim mentality.
he has already challenged their decisions to no avail. he is not going to run after them like an insisting beggar, as if going to the US was such a priviledge. check what he has already written about this affair…
Salam,
this is a good analysis . it seems you are quite otimistic…. even if you know only acts will tell the true meaning of obama’s intentions and possibilities. I personnaly think that we should not wait for obama or any other president to say something to motivate or demotivate us… people are too much passive and wait for the people in authority to do something in their directions.. most muslim/arab countries are passive… even in war they are passive, they are always reacting to something america or israel or the west does or says… they dont have their own initiative….unlike it seems the iranian regime, whether we agree or not on their policy, which seems to have a political class that want to achieve their own agenda…
Salaam,
I do agree with your analysis. This speech was about two things mainly:
1) Reminding the west (muslims and non muslims) the contribution of Islam in the western culture and history
He has suceeded very well on that objective. However, it will not resonate as much as we hope because it will have very little press and those who want to separate islam from the west are very little interested in the influence it might have had in the past. The positive thing is that it reminds us, muslims, that we need to promote knowledge about this facts by very concrete and popular actions (Opening our mosques, fairs, books, movies, conferences etc.)
2) Adressing the political issues
He displayed all the unconsistencies of his policy towards muslim countries (Iraq , Afghanistan and Palestine). No much to say about it but the fact that his silence on certain topics say as much as his words.
Conclusion: We must take care of ourselves!
Can the muslimworld develop itself regardless of what America does? How big is America’s influence?
In the meantime Europe seems to be going the wrong way with regard to it’s relationship with it’s own muslims. Geert Wilders PVV is the big winner of the EU elections and probably will be the winner of the national elections in 2011. Just like on a global scale the muslims have leant on the goodwill of non-muslims instead of taking on their own problems and developping themselves. Now things finally seem to be moving and some progress is taking place, but it is very fragile and there are still many challenges. Muslims are afraid this development will be undermined by the far-right mindset.
Will a shift in American tone and policy have an impact on Europe’s?
I hope you are not connecting President Obama with you unfairly being denied entry here? The Bush mob denied rights to US citizens as well. I hope you will apply once again and bet the result is different. You are most welcome here.
Salaam,
Tracey
This is an excellent article, eloquently written. However there is a common thread – a common line in all such articles that depict the US as the opressor and muslim countries or societies as the aggreived. I have been reading a lot about US attitudes towards muslim countries and muslim societies, particularly contrasting the approach of President Obama with that of President Bush. Here is what I have to say.
1. Bush made it his government’s official policy to promote democracy and representative governments in the middle east – nothing wrong with that.
2. Why is there no OUTRAGE in MUSLIM countries and societies about atrocities that muslims commit on fellow muslims? A prime example is Afghanistan – there can’t be enough outrage about how the taliban treats women and girls and their attitudes towards other religions (punitive taxation on sikhs). Please explain to me why muslims scholars and intelligentsia not take umbrage to the these most inhuman acts?
Let me tell you one last thing as a naturalised american citizen (not a muslim, christian or jew), America is the only beacon of hope for the world’s opressed and marginalised. America is he only hope for a free world folks – like it or not.
my friend, it is quite obvious you suffer from the « newly arrived migrant syndrome ». more royalist than the king. like it or not….before making such blunt baseless statements full of conviction that seem to emanate only from your personal perpective, you might want to take it a bit easier try widen your scope of inquiry..
although I strongllllly disagress with your conclusuion, you gave me great spirit to agree with you on one thing, that is : as muslims we should point our finger at the muslim injustices, and we should be a s much cretical to the muslim injustice as to injustices in GAZA. thank you for you benefecial point you gave, regardless that I have already heard it from TARIQ rMADAN in many ways, its nice ti hear it from you again. May GOD let us be cretical of ourselves.
Hello ,
You have mentioned about India & China in your Letter..Please be brief in what context
Thanks
NATS
The world is messy. Politics is messy- east and west. God obviously wanted it to be this way, but things really seem out of place to me; everybody is walking lame.
It was quite a speach. It sometimes even felt like listen to someone from within; a muslim who wants positive changes to occur in the muslimworld…
God’s Peace Be To You All. Barack Obama or Tariq Ramadan!!!Two men that are intellectually very stimulating indeed however united or disunited is their motives and objectives in the political world, but to me it looks like the less famous man has granted trust to the the more famous man, regardless the insignificant role fame plays when it come to the realm of THRUT, and equally the realm of REALITY. As to the realms of truth and reality that Im conserned with.
Not many Muslims would agree with Tariq Ramadan’s trust, especially when looking at the much complex conflict of interest rased by the religious, historical and political discourse especially in the last 100 years (colonialism). can the world ever begin again (like Obama suggests)? IS OBAMA REALLY NOT GOING TO BE EFFECTED BY THE SOLID UNITED STATES’S political platform, and all of us know how solid it is!!! question that need a view on, but what we need to remember is that TRUST does not require WEAK PLATFORMS but rather the one like the US, and although one is directing his trust to Obama due to his balanced vission and speech, then one also must remind obama that our trust on him as muslims is dependent and attached to our ultimate trust in THE SUPREME KING.
TO CONCLUD, i want to remind OBAMA and MYSELF, that before you take tariq ramadan’s TRUST in your heart and appreciation, you must first appreciate THE SUPREME KING’S allowance for you to be in a possition arguably seen as consisting of the most dynamic motor for change and also the president of the USA. As for Brother TARIQ RAMADAN, 10 years ago I only heard you on tapes in French not knowing your name, but those lectures had nothing to do with your name, but they had to do with something greater, and that was to attch someone’s heart to the true message of islam and thus attachement to the creator himself. in my eyes i SEE that there is no better job then the one you offered me 10 years ago at the age of 18 years old. but thanks to YouTube, I can see another side of MR T R, and TRUST me it is one of an intillectual vibe a one that expresses love and tolerance as well as a commitment of defending upright principales, and that is what Islam is all about. my only advise to you is, rember not to get into the political realm as so to neglect the DA3WA (connecting people to god) realm. You might remind me that they are both integrating with one another, and I agree, is just that I dont want you to miss out on the connecting people to god, in order to make islam a politically correct element in the western modern politics. Ofcourse, with out having to eleminate the political understanding to achieve peacful integration between muslims and others ( Americans, Westerners, Asians and all). MAY ALLAH GUIDE YOU FURTHER AND CORRECT YOU WHEN YOU MAKE MISTAKES, THE SMAE TO ME AND ALL PEACEFUL PEOPLE.
« He spoke of acknowledging Islam’s historical contribution to science, development and thought. »
The sole contribution of islam to the world is oneness of The All-Mighty. Scientific contributions and other developments are dependent to the will and life style of the people.
Its just a speech with no action behind it its powerless president Obama he’s just the new the face of the American Imperalism. His mandate wont be any different from his predecessor wasn’t he the one who said i will attack inside pakistan with or without approval from the pakistani government one promise that he kept. So far he hasn’t done anything good for the muslim world so why should we trust him
Dear Prof Ramadan
I admire your work and intellect and I welcome you to South Africa whenever you visit our country. As a Muslim journalist and media activist I hope to meet you in Cape Town if you happen to travel from Durban after the ILM-SA conference in July.
Anyway, regarding your piece on Obama’s speech in Cairo after his inauguration… the fizz has gone and my argument on my previous post on your blog stands.
Obama’s ‘concern’ over Israel’s piracy speaks volumes of his support for the fascist state.
We need voices like yours to condemn, more vociferously, the atrocities of Israel, just as vociferously and as eloquently as you speak for the reasoned voice of Muslims.
I think you are very well placed to contribute significantly to the mass mobilisation of non-Muslims to the world’s greatest cause for justice and respect for human rights. I’m sure you agree Palestine is not a Muslim issue, it is a human rights issue.
And I’m sure you agree that there are many other causes in the world, particularly in Africa and the the third world where humans are deprived of their basic rights and where there is an urgent need for Muslim intellectuals like yourself to speak out against these injustices.
Muslim intellectuals who are admired by the west must show that they naturally and spontaneously support the cause of human rights, animal rights, environmental rights and various other progressive campaigns that transcend religious boundaries.
I admire you and therefore I appeal to you…