Obama's Biggest Applause Lines in Cairo: Verses From the Koran
By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
Lots of folks analyzing President Obama's Cairo speech to the Muslim world today are expressing surprise about the lines that did and didn't draw applause from his immediate audience at Cairo University.
What surprised me was that three of the biggest applause lines came in response to the president's invocations of Koranic verses. Some of these lines came from a recent session between Obama's speechwriter and American religious figures and experts, which included a handful of Muslims.
Here are Obama's three references to the Koran, which he refers to the Holy Koran each time:
There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth." That is what I will try to do—to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.
The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind.
We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written. The Holy Koran tells us, "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."
A lot of analysts from the Muslim world have recently stressed that the Obama administration's policies toward Muslim nations matter a whole lot more than any kind of messaging from the White House. Watching the rousing responses to those lines from the Koran, though, it seems like messaging matters, too.
- Read more by Dan Gilgoff.
- Read more about religion.
Tags: Egypt | speeches | Barack Obama | religion | Islam | diplomacy | Obama administration
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Reader Comments
HYPOCRACY, OUR LEADER
Those of you who can praise this loser are obviously either
looking for a handout or plain stupid. as For FOX you need
to watch an learn the truth instead of corrupt politics from
the Obama media a-holes! YOU LIBS ARE ALL LOSERS & WEAK WIMPS!!
you voted for color not for a hardworker,it aint gonna happen!!
Total Crap
We have a Muslim President who wants to bankrupt the economy. What a little schemer. This man is the best terrorist of all time, getting into office to promote CHANGE! Change of what? Changing America into a third world country?!? I for one cannot wait for this man (that is right "man" he is not god or king) to get out of office.
Great Speech
This was an amazing and fundamentally important speech. I am always amazed by President Obama's great gift for eloquence and honest, pragmatic discourse. It is quite telling that people like Sean Hannity and the other Faux News pundits have to take his words out of context and throw tantrums about silly, made-up issues like using the term "violent extremism" instead of "terrorism" in order to criticize our Commander in Chief. It would be silly to expect the audience to cheer on those statements which are not in their favor, but Obama didn't back down or pander to their prejudices. It is because of the fact that tensions exist and anti-American sentiment is wide-spread that this speech was necessary. Hannity wants to frame Pres. Obama's foreign visits as an "apology" tour because he shares the political theory of George W. Bush and the Chinese Communist Party that the government is infallible and should never acknowledge past mistakes. This speech was another example of President Obama's greatest strength - his willingness to candidly and honestly address difficult issues and accept the reality as it is instead of as he would like it to be. We can't expect the Muslim world to make concessions if we are not willing to do so ourselves. To say that this speech will be seen as a sign of weakness is utterly incorrect - weakness is China's crackdown on public forums to avoid confronting the Tianamen Square massacre. Weakness is shown by a failure or inability to confront and acknowledge your past mistakes. It takes someone of true strength to admit that they were wrong an have erred in the past. That is the only way to diffuse tensions and set the stage for peace. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, progress has been unattainable for sixty years because both sides are too weak to let go of past injustices for the sake of future prosperity and peace. Israel is strong in military, but weak in courage and values, afraid to give the Palestinians freedom because they cannot endure the insecurity of letting go of control. I sincerely hope that the ideas and ideals set forth in this speech translate into actions and that President Obama is able to demonstrate the true strength of America. No progress can be made unless the Arabs and Zionists are willing to confront uncomfortable issues, admit past mistakes, respect others as human beings, and ultimately to have the courage to place themselves in a vulnerable position for the sake of their children, regardless of the political and security risks involved. I trust President Obama to return the US to its leadership role by setting just such an example and showing that true strength lies in courage, values, and humility, not in troops and weapons platforms.
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