I’ve been following President Obama’s “Muslim Outreach” program with a high degree of interest as I believe that reducing the tension between Islam and the West is one of the single dominant themes of our time. I admit I have been pretty skeptical since Obama’s opening act included a Grand Apologia in front of European audiences and a fawning videotape sent to the mullahs in Iran, purportedly designed to open dialogue with them.
But I have to say, I give Obama’s Cairo speech this week a B. He appears to be making some progress. At least he didn’t bow to any Saudi kings on this trip, apologize directly for America’s misbehavior, or completely throw the Israelis under the bus. And I give him credit for at least explicitly putting forward the checklist of items that will need to be tackled if there is to be peaceful coexistence between the West and Islam.
And while he should be congratulated for identifying the issues that cause friction between Islam and the West, his approach will fail unless it contains two key elements that are essential in relationship: reciprocity and accountability.
It is all fine, well and good to attempt to come to some sort of rapprochement with Islamic nations, and to take affirmative steps to achieve that. But such unilateral steps will be futile unless the Islamic world wants to take similar steps. Obama commented that “some in my country… view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights.” Islam needs to demonstrate concretely that this view is incorrect. But Islamic leaders were strangely silent following 9/11 and the murder of Theo Van Gogh. They took no steps to assist when their Arab brethren were being ruthlessly slaughtered in Bosnia and Iraq. Muslim protesters only come out when their sensibilities are offended by cartoon depictions of Allah with a bomb in his turban or when people like Geert Wilders observe the connection between Islam and violence.
It is fine for Obama to try to improve the West’s image with the Islamic world, but the Islamic world has a way to go in improving its image with the West. To many in the West, Islam conjures up images of extreme violence, intolerance, tyranny, opposition to scientific progress, and misogyny. These images did not arise out of thin air—they are based on the experiences observed by the West. If the Islamic world continues to embrace intolerance, violence and tyranny, no rapprochement with the West will be possible unless the West chooses to accede to these elements of their society. So while I applaud an effort undertaken to reach out to the Islamic world, the Islamic world must reciprocate and it must reciprocate by forcefully denouncing those elements of its society and culture which are an anathema to the West.
The second issue I have with Obama’s approach is accountability. While he stopped short of blaming America, he attributed the problems in the Middle East to, “tension that has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslims were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations.” In other words, Muslims are historical victims. And this is the biggest reason why I remain skeptical of the Obama approach. Victim hood of white colonialism remains hardwired in the DNA of the Democratic platform, both domestically and internationally. We will make no progress until the Muslim peoples reject victim hood and take responsibility for their own societies and outcomes. By casting them as victims, Obama is perpetuating their own powerlessness vis-à-vis their purported oppressors whether it is the Israelis or, more accurately, their own political and religious tyrants that enslave them.
I applaud Obama’s efforts to bridge the gap between the Muslim societies of the Middle East and the West. I agree that George Bush could not have given this speech. But real relationships are based on reciprocity and accountability and thus far Obama has been reluctant to demand either from the Islamic world.
But I have to say, I give Obama’s Cairo speech this week a B. He appears to be making some progress. At least he didn’t bow to any Saudi kings on this trip, apologize directly for America’s misbehavior, or completely throw the Israelis under the bus. And I give him credit for at least explicitly putting forward the checklist of items that will need to be tackled if there is to be peaceful coexistence between the West and Islam.
And while he should be congratulated for identifying the issues that cause friction between Islam and the West, his approach will fail unless it contains two key elements that are essential in relationship: reciprocity and accountability.
It is all fine, well and good to attempt to come to some sort of rapprochement with Islamic nations, and to take affirmative steps to achieve that. But such unilateral steps will be futile unless the Islamic world wants to take similar steps. Obama commented that “some in my country… view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights.” Islam needs to demonstrate concretely that this view is incorrect. But Islamic leaders were strangely silent following 9/11 and the murder of Theo Van Gogh. They took no steps to assist when their Arab brethren were being ruthlessly slaughtered in Bosnia and Iraq. Muslim protesters only come out when their sensibilities are offended by cartoon depictions of Allah with a bomb in his turban or when people like Geert Wilders observe the connection between Islam and violence.
It is fine for Obama to try to improve the West’s image with the Islamic world, but the Islamic world has a way to go in improving its image with the West. To many in the West, Islam conjures up images of extreme violence, intolerance, tyranny, opposition to scientific progress, and misogyny. These images did not arise out of thin air—they are based on the experiences observed by the West. If the Islamic world continues to embrace intolerance, violence and tyranny, no rapprochement with the West will be possible unless the West chooses to accede to these elements of their society. So while I applaud an effort undertaken to reach out to the Islamic world, the Islamic world must reciprocate and it must reciprocate by forcefully denouncing those elements of its society and culture which are an anathema to the West.
The second issue I have with Obama’s approach is accountability. While he stopped short of blaming America, he attributed the problems in the Middle East to, “tension that has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslims were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations.” In other words, Muslims are historical victims. And this is the biggest reason why I remain skeptical of the Obama approach. Victim hood of white colonialism remains hardwired in the DNA of the Democratic platform, both domestically and internationally. We will make no progress until the Muslim peoples reject victim hood and take responsibility for their own societies and outcomes. By casting them as victims, Obama is perpetuating their own powerlessness vis-à-vis their purported oppressors whether it is the Israelis or, more accurately, their own political and religious tyrants that enslave them.
I applaud Obama’s efforts to bridge the gap between the Muslim societies of the Middle East and the West. I agree that George Bush could not have given this speech. But real relationships are based on reciprocity and accountability and thus far Obama has been reluctant to demand either from the Islamic world.
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