November 10th, 2010 by Jason

Marc Lynch, in response to President Obama’s “well-crafted” speech, writes that in spite of the “litany of complaints” about President Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world, he actually deserves praise for much of it. “The administration has stuck with the President’s clear commitment to restoring positive relations with the Muslims of the world despite all the setbacks, when it would have been really easy to give up or change course.” Lynch lists several “quiet accomplishments” including building long-term commitments with a “rising generation of Muslims.” The work of the State Department, National Security Council, and other agencies to support programs that facilitate “jobs, economic opportunity and entrepreneurship, education, science, medicine, and the like,” is of particular importance. Lynch also warns of ” [o]ver-promising and under-delivering.”

Elizabeth Weingarten, writing at the Atlantic, says that the unresolved peace process, the Cordoba mosque controversy, and the threats from a Florida pastor to burn the Quran have “sullied” the clean slate Obama enjoyed after his Cairo speech. “Obama seems to be aware of his increasingly negative image in the Muslim world,” writes Weingarten, and Indonesia “was a fitting place for Obama to reignite support in the Muslim world: He could couch his message in the comfortable rhetoric of hope, and speak to the similarities of the two countries.”

Posted in Uncategorized |