Obama Cairo Speech Analyzed

Hugh Fitzgerald of Jihad Watch  has posted an analysis of President Obama's Cairo speech. He makes some interesting observations. Having lived in Cairo for 7 years I am very interested in knowing local reactions and have checked blogs from there but it is not yet clear how well it went down. I  disagree however with Spencer's unnecessary put-down concerning the use of the phrase "assalaamu alaykum." (peace be upon you) I was often greeted by Egyptian acquaintances with this phrase to which the appropriate response was "alayukum salaam! (Peace unto you)

      June 4, 2009

Featured Post: Platitudes and naivete: Obama's Cairo speech

NOTE: This speech is pivotal, and the importance attached to it makes it even more so, so we are going to keep it up top here for awhile. However, the site is still being updated -- please scroll down for updates.
Here is the text as prepared for delivery, provided by the White House, via USA Today, June 4 -- with my comments interspersed:

I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning,

...whose Grand Sheikh, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, has given his approval — on Islamic grounds — to suicide bombing.

and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum.

According to Islamic law, a Muslim may only extend this greeting -- Peace be upon you -- to a fellow Muslim. To a non-Muslim he is to say, "Peace be upon those who are rightly guided," i.e., Peace be upon the Muslims. Islamic law is silent about what Muslims must do when naive non-Muslim Islamophilic Presidents offer the greeting to Muslims.more