Sorry, this is hardly a novel observation about the man, but I felt the urge to post my reaction to hearing his interview with Justin Webb on the Today prog this morning. Bloody hell, the guy is awesomely impressive. His combination of eloquence, delicate judgement and nuancing, total mastery of his brief on any question asked, presence of mind, charm and charisma and ability to inspire is, to my mind, unparallelled amongst any politician I've ever seen before. His talent as a speaker to mass audiences was obvious during his election campaign. He's clearly just as brilliant in a one-to-one setting.
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That Obama bloke
Ruh-roh.
“And one of the points I want to make is, is that if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we’d be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world,” Mr. Obama said. “And so there’s got to be a better dialogue and a better understanding between the two peoples.” -
That Obama bloke
According to everyone's favourite answer engine Wolfram Alpha, there are 1.8 million Muslims in America. Which is a fair few, but not compared to, say, Indonesia or Pakistan. Or even Germany, on 3.7 million.Comment
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That Obama bloke
I think that may say more about Wolfram Alpha. I've seen the number estimated from 4.8 to 10 million, nothing compared to Muslims in Indonesia India or China or Nigeria but still a fair old few.Comment
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That Obama bloke
Unless there is a large population of so-called sleeper cells...The only other explanation is that Obama sees Muslims where there aren't any. Very sinister either way.Comment
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That Obama bloke
Even so, to acknowledge "one of the largest" Muslim populations is hardly a point of contention, is it? There are probably around that many Muslims in the UK as well, btw, for all that some of the parties standing in tomorrow's elections might want to say about that.Comment
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That Obama bloke
up to a point, wyatt- except Daniel Pipes appears to be the us Melanie Phillips
Through Campus Watch, Pipes encouraged students and faculty to submit information on "Middle East-related scholarship, lectures, classes, demonstrations, and other activities relevant to Campus Watch".[9] The project was accused of "McCarthyesque intimidation" of professors who criticized Israel when it published "dossiers" on eight professors it thought "hostile" to America. In protest, more than 100 academics demanded to be added to what some called a "blacklist". In October 2002 Campus Watch removed the dossiers from their website.[10][11][12][13]Comment
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That Obama bloke
nefertiti wrote:
Oh, sure, you can tell he's got a massive axe to grind. But it doesn't follow the same's true of the research he cites.Comment
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it looks partial- to say the least.
Are Muslims only practicing Muslims? Do you include converts and the Nation of Islam?
This shows the distribution of Mosques in the US
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That Obama bloke
Why don't they want us to know how many Muslims are in the U.S.? What's going on here?Comment
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well he's given the keynote speech at Cairo university
and it looks pretty magnificent to me.
Full text here
some highlights
On Israel Palestine
As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam – at places like al-Azhar University – that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.
I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America's story. The first nation to recognise my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President John Adams wrote: "The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquillity of Muslims." And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, served in government, stood for civil rights, started businesses, taught at our universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won Nobel prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic torch. And when the first Muslim-American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our founding fathers – Thomas Jefferson – kept in his personal library.
andPalestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the centre of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.
Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognise past agreements, and recognise Israel's right to exist.
At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.
Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society. And just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.
women's rights.
he says almost 7 million muslims in the US, by the way.I know there is debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the west that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.
Now let me be clear: issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, we have seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead. Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.
Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons, and our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity – men and women – to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams.Comment
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That Obama bloke
Pipes is way worse than Phillips, because he's taken seriously by more people. He's the son of they guy who was in charge of the infamous Team B and seems to have inherited his father's loony conspiracy theorist mindset, but directed monomaniacally at Muslims and Arabs. He claimed the Oklahoma City bombing was committed by Muslim fundamentalistsup to a point, wyatt- except Daniel Pipes appears to be the us Melanie PhillipsComment
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That Obama bloke
Yeah, obviously there's political issues one might have with that speech, but it was well judged and pitched. He has a rare brilliance at that sort of stuff, Obama.
One of the problematic things with it, of course, is the human rights record of the country hosting him.Comment
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That Obama bloke
I think this is a fairly good review of Obama's speech. The language he used on Palestine was mostly good (though as the blogger here mentions, it's still only Palestinians who are violent), but it needs to be turned into some kind of action, and fast. The current Mitchell trip seems to be a crucial moment I feel.Comment
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One of the intriguing aspects of all this is Rahm Emanuel's role. Talk of his not being as 'staunch' as was presumed.Comment
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That Obama bloke
See, now this:
is the stuff that drives me mental about Pilger. The insinuation that anyone who doesn't say what Pilger thinks ought to be said is manipulative (note use of the word "spun"). The insinuation that Obama is not his own man; rather, he was in fact "drafted and promoted" by unnamed, faceless baby-killers ("the lives of our children") who desire "dominance" for American power.In his "reaching out" in Cairo, as in his "anti-nuclear" speech in Berlin, as in the "hope" he spun at his inauguration, this clever young politician is playing the part for which he was drafted and promoted. This is to present a benign, seductive, even celebrity face to American power, which can then proceed towards its strategic goal of dominance, regardless of the wishes of the rest of humanity and the rights and lives of our children.
Why can't the man just disagree with someone and be done with it? Why this childish X-files stuff about "manipulation"?Comment
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Yeah, I have to agree, I'm afraid.Comment
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Fuck. An attaboy from Wyatt at 5:22 AM. I should just go back to bed for the rest of the day now, I'm not going to top that.Comment
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That Obama bloke
Actually, I tend to agree too. I love John Pilger for many reasons, but the article I posted did tend to veer into that conspiracy theory stuff a little too much (ie some) for my taste. I just thought it would be interesting reading for y'all.Comment
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That Obama bloke
And of course some of it is valid and reasoned and at the standard of his usual journalism.Comment
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