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Obama and the Muslim world - a fragile courtship
February 8, 2009 | Posted by Londonstani - 8:25am | 84 Comments
Not to overload everyone with NYT copy, but it's very worth reading this op-ed by Egyptian writer Alaa al Aswany outlining the wry but hopeful eying of President Obama by people in the Muslim world.
Now, I have a good idea what might happen here; Aswany's mention of Israel and its action in Gaza will probably kick off comment and counter comment about how Israel is, or is not, perfectly within its rights to kill 1,300 Palestinians and/or how Middle East elites fabricate popular anger over the Israel/Palestine issue to mask their own failings.
There is a tendency sometimes, Londonstani has noticed, for American foreign policy aficionados to tune out when an Arab mentions Israel. In Londonstani's opinion you can argue the rights, wrongs and origins of the conflict til you are blue in the face, but it's not productive to ignore that it is viewed by the vast majority of people in this part of the world as, what Aswany calls a; "simple, essential truth: the right of people in an occupied territory to resist military occupation."
However, the real core of what Aswany is talking about here is justice and fairness - domestically and internationally.
Aswany is a great observer and interpreter of popular opinion in a part of the world where there is a huge vacuum-packed gap between your average person and the gilded elites who are called upon to explain their people's views to the rest of the world.
Now, I have a good idea what might happen here; Aswany's mention of Israel and its action in Gaza will probably kick off comment and counter comment about how Israel is, or is not, perfectly within its rights to kill 1,300 Palestinians and/or how Middle East elites fabricate popular anger over the Israel/Palestine issue to mask their own failings.
There is a tendency sometimes, Londonstani has noticed, for American foreign policy aficionados to tune out when an Arab mentions Israel. In Londonstani's opinion you can argue the rights, wrongs and origins of the conflict til you are blue in the face, but it's not productive to ignore that it is viewed by the vast majority of people in this part of the world as, what Aswany calls a; "simple, essential truth: the right of people in an occupied territory to resist military occupation."
However, the real core of what Aswany is talking about here is justice and fairness - domestically and internationally.
Aswany is a great observer and interpreter of popular opinion in a part of the world where there is a huge vacuum-packed gap between your average person and the gilded elites who are called upon to explain their people's views to the rest of the world.
Obama and muslim world
Obama and muslim world fragile courtship.. Not so bad :)
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