[Guardian Unlimited, U.K.]
L'Express, France
U.S. Republicans
Don't Get It: Bush Soiled Use of Term 'Democracy'
"U.S.
Republicans have responded like frightened virgins, stigmatizing the absence of
the term 'democracy' from Obama's speech. This shows a failure to grasp the degree to which since 2003, Iraq has distorted perceptions of the word in the
Muslim world. Things have gone so far that the word is now synonymous with being a hypocritical pretext for imperialism."
By Philippe Coste*
Translated By
Sandrine Ageorges
June 6, 2009
France - L'Express -
Original Article (French)
Today's New York Times' editorial on the Cairo
speech sums up perfectly the American perception of the event; it is a reflection
of the great hope raised over the impact the address may have on the hearts and
minds of Muslims:
"When President Bush
spoke in the months and years after Sept. 11, 2001, we often - chillingly -
felt as if we didn't recognize the United States. His vision was of a country
racked with fear and bent on vengeance, one that imposed invidious choices on
the world and on itself. When we listened to President Obama speak in Cairo on Thursday,
we recognized the United States.”
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
From Dearborn Michigan to
Fort Worth Texas, among the cities with the largest Arab and Pakistani-American
populations, thousands of American Muslims, sometimes at five o-clock in the morning
due to the time difference [Cairo is seven hours ahead of Dearborn], listened to
their president in a one hour speech, shoot down the duel stereotypes of
American insularity and alleged intolerance.
In
substance, his words won't surprise the well-educated, but it was good that for
the first time, America and its Muslim citizens heard their president extol the
influence of Islam on the European renaissance, talk of the invention of the
compass and mathematics by Arabs, recall its poetry, music and architecture -
and its historic tolerance for other religions.
A teacher friend in France told
me with astonishment on his face, of the evident and moving pride of his North
African students, after he took two minutes to discuss the first Arab scientists
and mathematicians. I don't know if the French press cared to do so this time, but
the Los Angeles Times sent a correspondent to the Paris suburbs to
assess the impact of the speech. There was the same emotion and pride.
To be frank, U.S. Republicans
have responded like frightened virgins, stigmatizing the absence of the term
“democracy” from Obama's speech. This shows a failure to grasp the degree to which since 2003, Iraq has distorted perceptions of the word in the Muslim
world. Things have gone so far that the word is now synonymous with being a
hypocritical pretext for imperialism.
After eluding that obstacle
and delivering a firm reminder of America's alliance with Israel along with an
equally firm rebuff of the Jewish settlements, Obama simply returned to the heart
of the problem: an Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a two-state solution that
Bush had long refused to grapple with, preferring the brutal recourse of pacifying
the region based on the virtuous example of his new Iraq.
Obama is more realistic, and he
knew to portray his own country in a way that Americans can at least recognize.
[Guardian Unlimited, U.K., from February
2005]
*Philippe Cost: Born in 1959,
Bachelor in Law from Sciences Po Paris, I lived in Bogota, Colombia, for two
years before joining L'Express in 1984. Chosen as L'Express correspondent in the United States in 1991, I
live on the Upper West side of Manhattan and write as much about politics as
about society, the economy and American culture.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Al Madina, Saudi Arabia:
With Obama, a 'New Beginning'
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon:
'Hussein' is for Bold
Die Welt, Germany:
Can the Words of Obama Begin to Change the World?
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
CLICK HERE FOR FRENCH
VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US June 7, 02:36am]
