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Dr. Walid Phares
15 Hard Questions About the Cairo Speech
June 8, 2009
Perhaps the most challenging task for analysts and
commentators to accomplish after having listened to
President Obama's speech in Cairo (addressed to the
"Muslim World") is to know how to read it,
understand the links between the points he
made, capture the arguments inserted by his speech
writers and thus analyze the text as a major policy
change since 9/11. In short, I would recommend for
readers to establish a "map of the speech" before
venturing to its various exotic suggestions and
hints.
Evidently, each political constituency in America,
the region and the international community has its
priorities and will jump to the part it deems most
pressing, either exciting or depressing. However, I
suggest looking at the whole idea of addressing the
"Muslim world" or as the President coined it often
in his speech, "the Muslims" (two different things),
and understand where Obama is coming from and going
to. To help in this analytical task -- and to
simplify what seems to be complex -- I propose to
raise the following questions and address them
separately in the debate before re-sowing them as a
one bloc of ideas. Here are the ones I identify as
building blocks of the Obama "Muslim platform" drawn
from his speech
1. Is the equation of mending relations between a nation state,
America, and a whole civilization, Islam, rational? Is it academically
sound to put one country and fifty two other countries in one framework
of relationships? Are all 52 Muslim countries in one basket and America
in another? Who framed this equation?
2. The speech mentioned "violent extremists" several times as the foe to
contain and isolate. Is there not a clearer explanation of what is
"violent extremism" and who are the followers of such a behavior? Is it
about violence only? Are all those who practice violence, from household
abuse, gangsterism to mass murder part of one group? Of course not. So
what constitutes extremism? Do "violent extremists" have an ideology, a
platform, goals, strategies? Are they the Jihadists that the
whole world knows about? Why wouldn't President Obama simply names them
as such?
3. The speech argued that Americans were "traumatized" because of 9/11
and thus their view of Islam changed. Why would their view of a religion
change because of an attack perpetrated by 19 hijackers? Who is drawing
this conclusion? In short, if indeed Americans had a change in
perception after 9/11, what was their perception before? Is this reality
or is it the framing of the war of ideas by the apologist elite? Why is
there a complex of guilt forced on Americans?
4. The speech argued directly and indirectly that the US government --
because of 9/11 -- did things it was not supposed to do constitutionally
(or ethically). Among these breaches Mr. Obama mentioned the opening of
Guantanamo. The question is: Is opening a detention center in a state of
war (even not declared officially) in which active elements of the armed
opponents are detained is an act aimed against an entire religion? Who
said so and who framed it as such?
5. The speech delved into the claim that Islam "has demonstrated
through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and
racial equality." While it is perfectly legitimate for academics to
engage in such research and draw the conclusions they wish, can an
elected President in a liberal democracy make philosophical assertions
in the field of controversial and debated conflicts -- not part of his
or her national realm?
6. The speech -- rightly so -- praised the integration of
Muslim-Americans in their own country. But did the President mention why
a large number of American citizens fled many Muslim countries,
including Muslim-American citizens?
7. The speech -- rightly so -- rejected stereotypes about Muslims and
America. However who made these stereotypes, who propagated the
narrative that they exist and who is indoctrinating segments of
societies about the latter?
8. The President gladly (after significant messaging preceding the
speech) mentioned Darfur. But he never called it genocide, why?
Moreover, what is to be done about it? The speech was generous about
what Israel and Hamas must do, and about U.S. forthcoming spending in
the region, but left the audiences clueless about what to do about the
first genocide of the 21st century. Why?
9. The speech called Iraq's war one of choice but stated that Iraqis are
better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. Doesn't this statement
need more explanation? Is the conclusion that it is better to leave
people under tyrannies even if they are subjected to mass killing? As
for Afghanistan, the President didn't mention the Taliban once. Who are
NATO, the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan facing off with? Is it normal
that the one Jihadi force which protected al Qaeda as launched the 9/11
attacks and is on the offensive against democracies in two Muslim
countries is not identified in the speech to the Muslim world?
10. The speech reasserted – logically -- a U.S. standing policy of
supporting a two-states solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
However, if Israel and the Palestinian Authority have agreed on such
principle already in 1993, who then is obstructing the process? Why
wasn't the obstructing force, Hamas and Iran, named as such?
11. The speech granted Iran a right to develop a peaceful nuclear
program, but who denied it to the Iranian people to begin with? The
question is about the Iranian regime’s expansionist agenda in the region
not the type of technology. Nuclear capacities in the hands of a terror
regime will become dangerous and armed. Is it not about the intentions
of the regime?
12. The speech mentioned that there has been a controversy about
democracy in the region, particularly because of the Iraq war. The
question is: what is that controversy about, and thus where does the
U.S. stand in this debate? Are there different values for different
countries and cultures when it comes to freedom? What are they?
13. The speech advocated religious freedoms. The question is who is
breaching them? The President mentioned the Maronites and the Copts but
didn't explain who is causing them harm?
14. The speech addressed women's rights and the President rejected one
Western position in the debate about Muslim women's freedom assessment,
and asserted the rights of some women to wear the Hijab unquestioned.
However why didn't he list the grievances of Muslim women who do not
want to wear the Hijab and are forced to do so? The President argued
that the real issue in women's status is education. But isn't their
education a political and fundamental right? How can women practice the
right to education if they cannot practice their freedom to choose it?
15. The speech announced – gladly -- that the United States will be
spending money to help Muslim communities develop on multiple
continents. But why didn't the President ask the rich elite in these
countries to share the burden if not to assume it fully? Why would a
nation in the northern part of the Western Hemisphere be footing the
bill of development in remote regions where the financial establishment
is buying shares of and controlling the American economy?
These are only few questions about a speech that will be studied and
used by the current administration, its opposition, future
administrations, regimes in the region, the Jihadists and dissidents
alike for many years to come. It is essential that the students of such
text focus on the essence and draw the proper conclusions. Indeed words
matter, especially in the midst of a raging war of ideas, even if the
author of the speech and the speech writers’ main goal is precisely to
end such a war. |
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