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I rather disagree--at least in part

Reader comment on item: That Nobel Peace Prize: Bashes Bush, Handcuffs Obama
in response to reader comment: The U.S should be delighted with its Nobel Prize

Submitted by Peter Herz (United States), Oct 12, 2009 at 21:08

I also wish President Obama well. May he be blessed with wisdom.

However, I cannot agree that his speech to the Islamic world really changed things. Islamic regimes remain largely corrupt and tyrannical; the treatment of non-Muslim minorities in Islamic countries remains appalling; Obama spoke as a Muslim in his mention of Jesus (the PBUH when a Christian would have prayed for Christ's peace on us); the raising of the Falastin Arab plight to an analogy to that of the Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe; and no calling the Arab world to account for the fact that the US has given passport-holding, property-rights, voting-rights citizens to more victims and descendents of an-Nakhbar than any seven Arabic-speaking states (excluding Jordan, Israel, and the PA) put together. I daresay, since you seem to be from Australia that your country has probably also made real citizens of more Falastin Arabs than most of the Arab world put together, too.

Further, 9/11, the recent persecution of Copts in Egypt, the killings and kidnappings of Christians in Pakistan, and other matters warn us that the Islamic world has a lot of internal demons which it studiously avoids confronting. Indeed, where Christians (ESPECIALLY Evangelicals) wince at the mention of the Crusades, Muslim calls for violent Jihad are growing. Obama failed to raise that challenge in his Cairo speech, but spoke of the "legacy of tolerance" when even in Ummayad Spain and 16th century Ottoman Turkey a dhimmi's testimony was worth only half of a Muslim's and apostasy laws were neforced.

Perhaps Mr. Obama is saving the things I think he should have said for a later date, when he has won more trust in the Islamic world. But I doubt it.

Indeed, much as I did not welcome the interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, I have to say that the most hopeful period for real democracy, nuclear responsibility, and human rights in the Islamic world came in the months after Sadam Hussein was toppled.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (27) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Barack Hussain Obama is buying peace on Higher cost [27 words]Amitabh TripathiOct 27, 2009 07:51163602
What Good Public Relations Can Do [162 words]B.N.GururajOct 24, 2009 23:55163528
The Milli Vanilli Grammy... [41 words]HomefrontOct 19, 2009 01:58163235
Obama's Nobel Peace Prize [176 words]Suren SukhtankarOct 14, 2009 15:40163067
Peace prize? [35 words]RozOct 14, 2009 12:35163065
Vision of a Peace Prize [39 words]Dale BrownOct 12, 2009 15:33162994
sometimes a cigar [90 words]attaturkOct 12, 2009 09:32162983
Oprah Effect [8 words]moeursalenOct 10, 2009 22:08162922
What to do... [168 words]Phoenix287Oct 10, 2009 13:18162903
I rather agree [25 words]Peter HerzOct 12, 2009 20:55162903
The U.S should be delighted with its Nobel Prize [118 words]Dr Arnold MANNOct 10, 2009 11:09162900
I rather disagree--at least in part [327 words]Peter HerzOct 12, 2009 21:08162900
correction [116 words]CanaanOct 14, 2009 22:48162900
Our emperor in his newest clothes [131 words]Rebecca MouldsOct 10, 2009 10:53162898
Congrats, Mr. Prez! [193 words]Peter HerzOct 10, 2009 06:38162887
The Nobel Prize to Obama divinizes hypocrisy [120 words]Francesco MangasciàOct 10, 2009 03:30162886
It could be true, but then something else could be true as well. [276 words]P C ManiOct 10, 2009 02:58162885
How about that? [60 words]CanaanOct 14, 2009 23:03162885
Prize for "Hope" [250 words]Fay VoshellOct 10, 2009 02:26162884
A gold yoke on Obama's neck. [145 words]batya daganOct 9, 2009 21:55162872
Lest we forget [127 words]there is NO Santa ClausOct 9, 2009 20:04162867
the downgrading of the Nobel Prize [150 words]Jules PostenOct 9, 2009 19:04162866
The International "Dhimmi" of the Year Award [46 words]merisraelOct 9, 2009 18:18162863
Why is it so difficult to understand? [333 words]P C ManiOct 12, 2009 02:56162863
Obama in a good company... [43 words]TiborOct 9, 2009 17:49162862
Precedent [11 words]BronsonOct 12, 2009 01:04162862
Nobel Prize is No Trade for the Freedoms-Liberties Guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence-Constitution of the United States of America [376 words]M. ToveyOct 12, 2009 19:48162862

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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