{"id":298,"date":"2009-04-07T06:54:31","date_gmt":"2009-04-07T06:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/cityofbrass\/2009\/04\/the-united-states-is-not-and-n.html"},"modified":"2009-04-07T06:54:31","modified_gmt":"2009-04-07T06:54:31","slug":"the-united-states-is-not-and-n","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/2009\/04\/the-united-states-is-not-and-n.html","title":{"rendered":"“The United States is not, and never will be, at war with Islam”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I posted the full transcript of Obama’s remarks to Turkey’s Parliament<\/a> earlier but wanted to highlight a few passages that I think were particularly significant. <\/p>\n

For one thing, Obama strongly affirmed US support for Turkey’s EU membership:<\/p>\n

The United States strongly supports Turkey’s bid to become a member of the European Union.<\/b>
\n(Applause.) We speak not as members of the EU, but as close friends of
\nboth Turkey and Europe. Turkey has been a resolute ally and a
\nresponsible partner in transatlantic and European institutions. Turkey
\nis bound to Europe by more than the bridges over the Bosphorous.
\nCenturies of shared history, culture, and commerce bring you together.
\nEurope gains by the diversity of ethnicity, tradition and faith — it
\nis not diminished by it. And Turkish membership would broaden and
\nstrengthen Europe’s foundation once more.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is an implicit rebuke to the rising tide of Islamophobia and right-wing political movements that are sweeping across Europe.<\/p>\n

Obama then segued from EU membership to reform, most of which were initiated as part of the application. He pointed out how far Turkey has come but was quite explicit that Turkey has far to go:<\/p>\n

In the last several years, you’ve abolished state security courts,
\nyou’ve expanded the right to counsel. You’ve reformed the penal code
\nand strengthened laws that govern the freedom of the press and
\nassembly. You’ve lifted bans on teaching and broadcasting Kurdish, and
\nthe world noted with respect the important signal sent through a new
\nstate Kurdish television station.<\/p>\n

These achievements have
\ncreated new laws that must be implemented, and a momentum that should
\nbe sustained. For democracies cannot be static — they must move forward<\/b>.
\nFreedom of religion and expression lead to a strong and vibrant civil
\nsociety that only strengthens the state, which is why steps like
\nreopening Halki Seminary will send such an important signal inside
\nTurkey and beyond. An enduring commitment to the rule of law is the
\nonly way to achieve the security that comes from justice for all
\npeople. Robust minority rights let societies benefit from the full
\nmeasure of contributions from all citizens.<\/p>\n

I say this as the
\nPresident of a country that not very long ago made it hard for somebody
\nwho looks like me to vote, much less be President of the United States.
\nBut it is precisely that capacity to change that enriches our
\ncountries. Every challenge that we face is more easily met if we tend
\nto our own democratic foundation. This work is never over. That’s why,
\nin the United States, we recently ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay
\nclosed. That’s why we prohibited — without exception or equivocation
\n— the use of torture. All of us have to change. And sometimes change is hard<\/b>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s a mark of diplomatic etiquette that Obama frames this with the American example (using his own election as evidence that america itself is also continually improving). <\/p>\n

Obama then grabbed a contentious issue by the horns – and alluded quite clearly and explicitly to the “events of 1915”; namely, the Armenian genocide:<\/p>\n

Human endeavor is by its nature imperfect. History is often tragic, but
\nunresolved, it can be a heavy weight. Each country must work through
\nits past. And reckoning with the past can help us seize a better
\nfuture. I know there’s strong views in this chamber about the
\nterrible events of 1915. And while there’s been a good deal of
\ncommentary about my views, it’s really about how the Turkish and
\nArmenian people deal with the past. And the best way forward for the
\nTurkish and Armenian people is a process that works through the past in
\na way that is honest, open and constructive.<\/b><\/p>\n

We’ve already
\nseen historic and courageous steps taken by Turkish and Armenian
\nleaders. These contacts hold out the promise of a new day. An open
\nborder would return the Turkish and Armenian people to a peaceful and
\nprosperous coexistence that would serve both of your nations.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This strikes the right tone. Obama has been critiqued for not being provocative<\/a> and challenging the Turkish parliament to recognize it as genocide right then and there; but really would that make any sense? Such haranguing would probably rset back such recognition aother decade, to say nothing of urkish-American and more importantly, Turkish-Armenian relations. <\/p>\n

Finally, Obama alluded to the distrust between the muslim world and the US, exacerbated by the Iraq war – and made it absolutely clear that there is no quarrel with Islam:<\/p>\n

I know there have been difficulties these last few years. I know that
\nthe trust that binds the United States and Turkey has been strained,
\nand I know that strain is shared in many places where the Muslim faith
\nis practiced. So let me say this as clearly as I can: The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam<\/b>.
\n(Applause.) In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical
\nnot just in rolling back the violent ideologies that people of all
\nfaiths reject, but also to strengthen opportunity for all its people.<\/p>\n

I
\nalso want to be clear that America’s relationship with the Muslim
\ncommunity, the Muslim world, cannot, and will not, just be based upon
\nopposition to terrorism. We seek broader engagement based on mutual
\ninterest and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, we will bridge
\nmisunderstandings, and we will seek common ground. We will be
\nrespectful, even when we do not agree. We will convey our deep
\nappreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over the
\ncenturies to shape the world — including in my own country. The
\nUnited States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other
\nAmericans have Muslims in their families or have lived in a
\nMuslim-majority country — I know, because I am one of them<\/b>. (Applause.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It should be noted that President Bush also went to great pains to also deny any hostility towards Islam<\/a>. Unfortunately the Iraq war undermined Bush’s credibility in the muslim world on that score. Obama’s Afghanistan policy will have a similar effect on his credibility if he does not execute that war differently; disavowing the use of aerial bombardment<\/a> would be a great start.<\/p>\n

That section of Obama’s remarks is also a likely preview of Obama’s more detailed foreign policy speech to come. I am looking forward to it; Obama’s remarks in Turkey were exactly the right tone of mutual respect for Islam and unyielding, non-apologetic defense of American values – an invitation to partnership.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: the wingnuts are predictably outraged<\/a>, claiming that Obama’s remarks were “apologizing” to muslims and a “criticism” of America. Larison is utterly merciless<\/a> in response. To no avail, though, as Islamophobia has become a central GOP dogma and long predates knee-jerk ODS. Who can forget the Tom Tancredo “nuke mecca”<\/a> comment? Redstate in particular has been ecstatically running<\/a> with this particular ball, though once upon a time it was possible to have a healthy debate<\/a> and dissent<\/a> about Islam at that site. <\/p>\n

Related – the muslim American umbrella organization AMT issued a press release praising Obama’s words of conciliation<\/a> to the muslim world, but also called for him to address Islamophobia at home, especially in light of the recent poll findings that nearly half of all Americans<\/a> have an unfavorable view towards Islam. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I posted the full transcript of Obama’s remarks to Turkey’s Parliament earlier but wanted to highlight a few passages that I think were particularly significant. For one thing, Obama strongly affirmed US support for Turkey’s EU membership: The United States strongly supports Turkey’s bid to become a member of the European Union. (Applause.) We speak…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[121,24,38,124,26,262,182],"class_list":["post-298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-gash-of-civilizations","tag-foreign-policy","tag-islam","tag-obama","tag-pli","tag-politics","tag-turkey","tag-ummah"],"yoast_head":"\n"The United States is not, and never will be, at war with Islam" - City of Brass<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""The United States is not, and never will be, at war with Islam" - City of Brass\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I posted the full transcript of Obama’s remarks to Turkey’s Parliament earlier but wanted to highlight a few passages that I think were particularly significant. 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City of Brass is his weblog, which was founded in 2002 under the name UNMEDIA. He is a co-founder of the annual Brass Crescent Awards. The name City of Brass refers to the Story of the City of Brass in the Thousand and One Nights, and the poem by Rudyard Kipling of the same name: Here was a people whom, after their works, thou shalt see wept over for their lost dominion; And in this palace is the last information respecting lords collected in the dust. -- Thousand and One Nights, Story of the City of Brass IN A land that the sand overlays, the ways to her gates are untrod, A multitude ended their days whose fates were made splendid by God, Till they grew drunk and were smitten with madness and went to their fall, And of these is a story written: but Allah Alone knoweth all! -- Rudyard Kipling, The City of Brass (1909)"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}