Can Obama improve relations with the Islamic world?

[RSS News]

Obama is making a keynote speech in Egypt. Can he increase US engagement with Muslims?

(Feed provided by BBC News | Have your Say (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/talking_point/default.stm))

[MAVA]

No they should not until imperialism stops

[Verix]

Maybe he could if he
A: Stopped the occupation/americanaztion of iraq
B: Spoke out against Israels genocide
but thats not going to happen....

[bezdomni]

I like how everyone is talking about "the muslim world", as if it actually references a coherent group of people.

I'm sure plenty of muslims already like Obama...plenty of others probably hate him as much as they did Bush. There is no such thing as "the muslim world". What the fuck are they smoking.

[Il Medico]

Anyone can if they make an actual effort. But will he? No.

[Verix]

I like how everyone is talking about "the muslim world", as if it actually references a coherent group of people.

I'm sure plenty of muslims already like Obama...plenty of others probably hate him as much as they did Bush. There is no such thing as "the muslim world". What the fuck are they smoking.

"the Muslim world" refers to the nations in the middle east (and some in africa) whose goverment is base on pricibles layed down in quaran, just like the "western" world is not literally west, and how when people blame stuff on america they mean the goverment not everybody from that country

[Wanted Man]

"the Muslim world" refers to the nations in the middle east (and some in africa) whose goverment is base on pricibles layed down in quaran, just like the "western" world is not literally west, and how when people blame stuff on america they mean the goverment not everybody from that country
Where do you think most muslims live? The point is that "the muslim world" is a historically and culturally ignorant term. Just like it would be if I were to call Western Europe and North America "the Christian world". I don't see the point in justifying using those things.

[khad]

"the Muslim world" refers to the nations in the middle east (and some in africa) whose goverment is base on pricibles layed down in quaran, just like the "western" world is not literally west, and how when people blame stuff on america they mean the goverment not everybody from that country
Most nations in the so-called Middle East don't practice sharia law.

[FreeFocus]

The fact is that people fall for symbolism and appearances and are generally not inclined to base their actions or views on the reality of the situation. America's approval ratings have gone up throughout the world since Obama's election and Obama is still one of the most popular people (in terms of approval) in the world now.

Although the capitalist media obviously selects what it will air, it is not as tightly controlled as some people may think (in other words, although tightly controlled, it is not like there is one person dictating what goes into news and what gets cut; what really exists are accepted boundaries of discussion and viewpoints, and what is outside of those boundaries are simply dismissed). For example, I was listening to CNN this morning, and a Moroccan man commented after Obama's speech, saying that Obama's message resonated with him and noted that Morocco was the first state to recognize the US after its independence. This man saw value in that, as a way forward, based on "mutual respect."

The problem with this man's approach is that the US is a settler state, founded on genocide and ethnic cleansing (sound familiar? see Israel following its example). If legitimizing that is a "way forward," based on "mutual respect," I'll be damned if I support that approach.

People tend to value symbolism more than reality. I have to read Obama's speech in entirety and may write up an article in response to it, and perhaps some of the ideas I touched on in this post.

[Verix]

Most nations in the so-called Middle East don't practice sharia law.

Sorry :(

[Dimentio]

Obama is making a keynote speech in Egypt. Can he increase US engagement with Muslims?

(Feed provided by BBC News | Have your Say (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/talking_point/default.stm))

With Arabic elites, yes. He seems to be quite interested in closer cooperation with pro-American Arabic dictatorships. But at the same time, this is'nt a radical break from the later Bush policies. Bush actually succeeded in bringing forth a de-facto Arab recognition of Israel.

The only new thing was that Obama said "Israel tsk tsk tsk" instead for "Israel tsk tsk" regarding the settlements.

[fabiansocialist]

The only new thing was that Obama said "Israel tsk tsk tsk" instead for "Israel tsk tsk" regarding the settlements.

That seems to be the gist of it. It was just another load of horseshit. Here is Chomsky's analysis (http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/chomsky040609.html).

[bellyscratch]

People also might want to read Lindsey German's view (http://www.stopwar.org.uk/lindsey/2009/06/deeds-not-words.html) on the speech