[Al-Ahram, Egypt]
Estadao, Brazil
Obama Frees
America from 'Crusadist Pitfall'
"Obama's
speech infuriated both the preachers of global jihadi terror as well as the
neo-conservative intellectuals that molded the foreign policy of George W.
Bush. … it exploded like a bomb inside the ideological fortresses on both sides
of the illusory border."
By Demétrio Magnoli*
Translated By Brandi
Miller
June 12, 2009
Brazil - Estadao - Original Article
(Portuguese)
Forty-five years ago in
Cairo, the manifestation of contemporary jihad came to light. Wringing in prison,
Sayyid Qutb, leader of
the Muslim Brotherhood, predicted a milestone: "The leadership of the Western
man in human affairs is in decline, not because Western civilization is facing
material bankruptcy or has lost its economic or military strength, but because
the Western order has already done its part and no longer has that collection
of values that gave it predominance. Now is the time of Islam." One week
ago, in Cairo again, Barack Obama contested Qutb. Not by contrasting the West
and Islam, but by evoking universal values - which are human rights. The
presidential speech infuriated both the preachers of global jihadi terror as
well as the neo-conservative intellectuals that molded the foreign policy of
George W. Bush.
Qutb died on the gallows in
1966, unjustly condemned by the nationalist regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser,
but his brother Muhammad sought exile in Saudi Arabia and, with other fugitive
Egyptian leaders, spread the banner of jihad among the Saudi elite. In 1979,
1500 jihadist militants took over the Grand Mosque of Mecca
[the holiest place in Islam], triggering a civil war that continues today in
the world of Islam. Obama spoke to Muslims, telling them to turn their backs on
the fanatics and redeem Islam from the hands of the apostates. His "war on
terror" is based on words more than missiles.
"So long as our
relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow
hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the cooperation.
… This cycle of suspicion and discord must end." Al-Qaeda arose out of
dissent of jihadi Islam, which took the shape of an army of faithful in the
battlefields of Afghanistan during the war against Soviet occupation. Qutb's
heirs united in the network of Osama bin Laden, aim to restore the Islamic
caliphate and impose the Law of the Book over all Muslims. Obama is saying that
this invocation of Islam is not only a literal denial of modernity, but a
negation of Islam itself.
The U.S. president spoke at
the University of Cairo, founded by the Fatimid Caliphate in
the 10th century, is associated with the Al-Azhar Mosque and dedicated to the
propagation of Islamic culture. Obama exalted that Islamic civilization, which "carried
the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's
Renaissance and Enlightenment," through its capacity for innovation in the
fields of algebra, instruments of navigation, printing, medicine and architecture.
He recognized the "religious conflicts and wars" between the West and
Islam, but rejected the image of two contradictory monoliths, enclosed in
cocoons of irreconcilable dogmas. Islam is in the West and the West is in
Islam - that is the message of the speech, which exploded like a bomb inside
the ideological fortresses on both sides of the illusory border.
"America and Islam are
not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share
common principles -- principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity
of all human beings." Obama spoke to Muslims but also to Westerners,
especially looking to the Orientalists who formulated the doctrine of a war of
civilizations. Bernard
Lewis, the prince of Orientalists, defined early-on, a non-negotiable point
of view: investigating the archives of the Ottoman Empire, became
convinced that Muslim culture contains an original sin, expressed as an
immovable resistance to change. Later, faithful to this interpretation, he
coined the phrase "clash of civilizations," and argues that Islam and
the West have been in collision since the 7th Century, when the first caliphate
came to be. In their view, Islam and the West are defined by inescapably
separate cultures - and the salvation of the first depends on the eventual negation
of its "essence" by the adoption of the values of the second.
Rejecting Lewis' set categories, Obama frees the United States from the Crusadist
pitfall that has guided its foreign policy since September 11th, 2001.
Terror is a broad term, which
acted as a substitute for Islamic fundamentalism in the Bush "war on
terror." The history of the great mental perturbation of the open spirits of
Qutb's Islamic manifesto is more complex and unclear. The Muslim Brotherhood
split up in 1987. The minority attached itself to Osama bin Laden, creating a
global network of jihad. The majority renounced violence and chose the path of
a political struggle against dictatorship and pro-Western Egypt and today faces
relentless repression. From the ribs of the Brotherhood came the Palestinian
Hamas, a fundamentalist party of the masses waging mass terror against Israel. But
as ignoble as their attacks are, Hamas has rejected being associated with al-Qaeda
and the doctrine for restoring the caliphate. Under the influence of Lewis,
Bush united these distinct expressions of Islamic fundamentalism under the same
banner. Obama decided to separate them.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
de Volkskrant, The Netherlands:
Muslims' Great Fear: 'Obama Can't Do It'
Izvestia, Russia:
Russia Can Help Obama With Muslims
Al Madina, Saudi Arabia:
With Obama, a 'New Beginning'
Kitabat, Iraq:
Thank You, Mr. Obama. We Hope Our Leaders Got the Message
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria:
Muslim 'Suspicion' Over Obama's 'Operation Seduction'
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon:
'Hussein' is for Bold
L'Express, France:
Prince Obama and His Muslim Cinderella
Die Welt, Germany:
Can the Words of Obama Begin to Change the World?
Liberation, France:
Obama Calls France Out on Banning Muslim Veil
Liberation, France:
Obama: Speaker of Verities
The Nation, Pakistan:
Obama Must Make Real His Belief in Koranic Principles
Amal Al Ummah, Egypt:
Prince Obama and His Muslim Cinderella
Amal Al Ummah, Egypt:
If America Can Change, Why Not Egypt?
Al Araby, Egypt:
Five U.S. Presidencies is Too Long for Mubarak
Kuwait Times, Kuwait:
For an Obama on the Make, Egypt is the Wise Choice
Alhayat Aljadeeda, Palestine:
As Palestinians Await Obama's Speech, We Must Unify
Amal Al Ummah, Egypt:
Don't Be Fooled By Obama's Egypt Speech
Amal Al Ummah, Egypt:
Egypt's Comments on Israeli Nukes a Betrayal of Muslims
Al-Arab al-Yawm, Jordan:
World Must Not Fall for Obama PR Onslaught
Al Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:
Obama: A Humble Leader Worthy of His Great Nation
Al Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:
Obama Interview with Al-Arabiya Cause for Arab Shame
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria
Arab Leaders Prefer to 'Listen to Obama's Fables'
Al Watan, Oman:
When 'Hussein' is the Most Beautiful Word
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon:
Stars, Stripes and the Muslim Crescent
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon:
Arab Leaders Should Heed Obama's Words
In Cairo, the
president reiterated that the link between the U.S. and Israel is
"unbreakable," condemned anti-Semitism and stated that negation of
the Holocaust was "hateful." But he acknowledged the suffering of the
Palestinians, the "daily humiliations" inflicted by the occupation
and the "legitimate aspiration" for a sovereign state. In the same sentence,
he demanded the freezing of Israeli settlements and that Palestinians renounce violence,
because, "It is a sign neither of courage nor power to shoot rockets at
sleeping children." Challenging a taboo, he directed himself to Hamas and
stated that, as a component of the Palestinian nation, they must recognize the
right of Israel to exist. This is an intolerable program for Muslim jihadism,
neo-conservative Americans and the current Israeli government. This was not a
speech of protocol, but a new beginning for U.S. foreign policy.
*Demétrio Magnoli is a
sociologist and holds a doctorate in human geography from the University of São
Paulo. E-mail: demetrio.magnoli@terra.com.br
CLOCK HERE FOR PORTUGUESE VERSION
[Posted by
WORLDMEETS.US June 25, 3:59pm]
