Here's an interesting aside for Atlas readers. A friend of mine whom I love but whose politics run counter to mine recently returned from a trip to the Middle East. He went to Tel Aviv to march in the Gay Pride Parade. He did the whole country and spent a lot of time in Arab towns.
He said, "You know, Pamela, I was thinking about you there, because when you and I talked about Obama a year or so ago, and you discussed his Muslim stepfather and schooling, etc., I thought, she's off her rocker. But when I was in the [Muslim] quarter of Jerusalem ....... They kept talking about Muhammad until I finally said, 'Muhammad? The prophet?'
"'No!' They excitedly replied. 'Obama!!' They call Obama Muhammad." I thought
that was fascinating. My friend went on to say, "They really think he
is one of them. They think he is a Muslim. I was shocked."
Well, I'm not.
Over at the White House propaganda website, "This month is also a time of renewal and this marks the first Ramadan since the President outlined his vision for a new beginning between America and the Muslim world". And while on its face Obama's goal seems genuine, it is hard to reconcile his obsession with dar al Islam and his rejection of Christianity in myriad ways. Take, for example, when Georgetown University says it covered over the monogram “IHS” -- symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ — because it was inscribed on a pediment on the stage when President Obama spoke at the university on Tuesday, and Obama told Georgetown to cover up all signs and symbols there. Or Obama's cancellation of the National Day of Prayer service at the White House. Or that Obama has still not joined a church.
I agree with Bat Ye'or when she commented on Obama's speech to the Muslim world in Cairo: "Pres. Barack Obama was elected, by an overwhelming majority, on a
program in which America’s rapprochement with Islam stands pre-eminent. This is
a legitimate political aim in the quest for world peace. The questions are: how
to achieve it, and why there is no reciprocal effort from the Muslim world
represented by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). This body could
express its regrets for over a millennium of jihad wars, land expropriations,
enslavements, and humiliations of the conquered non-Muslim populations on three
continents."
Let's take a look at Obama's "revealing" Ramadan remarks.
Ramadan Message
Washington, DC
On behalf of the American people – including Muslim communities in all fifty states – I want to extend best wishes to Muslims in America and around the world. Ramadan Kareem.
Ramadan is the month in which Muslims believe the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, beginning with a simple word – iqra. It is therefore a time when Muslims reflect upon the wisdom and guidance that comes with faith, and the responsibility that human beings have to one another, and to God.
Sounds like dawah, doesn't it?
The use of the word revealed is revealing, very telling. Obama used this in his Cairo speech to the Ummah. I noted it then: - "particularly worth mentioning is Barack Hussein Obama's quote that he had "'known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed.' an interesting choice of words that, 'first revealed.' Not 'established,' 'founded' or 'invented.' The President is, after all, a careful writer, so he must have deliberately eschewed verbs that reflect man's role, in favor of the theological version of events promoted by Islam."
I don't begin to know what Obama is talking about here. Other religions are not tolerated in Muslim countries. Churches and synagogues do not exist in some Islamic countries, and where they do exist, they are constantly targeted and in myriad instances attacked. Women's rights under Islam are practically non-existent. Oppression, subjugation and gender apartheid define the treatment of women in Islam. Islamic anti-semitism defines the faith. Islamic aggression and intolerance of the Jews and the Jewish state have become the rallying cry of the ummah and the OIC driven UN.
Coming 911............
All of these efforts are a part of America’s commitment to engage Muslims and Muslim-majority nations on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect. And at this time of renewal, I want to reiterate my commitment to a new beginning between America and Muslims around the world.
Where is the mutual respect? Where is the respect of the West and our unending patience, charity, and subjugation to Islam? Defaming Islam is the great crime: defaming Christianity and Judaism is the sport of the day, but dare to insult Islam and they'll have your head in parts of the world, or, in the case of Geert Wilders, ban and prosecute you. Free speech be damned in the age of jihad.
There is no self criticism or self examination in Islam, but the leader of the waning free world would never think to mention that.
Yes have you seen the State department outreach all all US embassies across the world here and here.
These consultations are helping us implement the partnerships that I called for in Cairo – to expand education exchange programs; to foster entrepreneurship and create jobs; and to increase collaboration on science and technology, while supporting literacy and vocational learning. We are also moving forward in partnering with the OIC and OIC member states to eradicate polio, while working closely with the international community to confront common health challenges like H1N1 – which I know is of particular to concern to many Muslims preparing for the upcoming hajj.
Partnering with the OIC, the Organization of the Islamic Conference? To what end? What is the goal of the OIC (57 Islamic states that act as one unit - the ummah)? Bat Ye'or recently said of the OIC:
Unfortunately what I see now, organized in the OIC,
is exactly the contrary. The OIC brings all the Muslim countries, the
57 Muslim countries, together, and I wouldn’t say the same rule of
course, the same organization, the same politics, its aim at creating
a block, a Muslim block, which is, it plans to unify it by rooting it
in the Koran and Sharia and the Sunna. So we are going to see a
stronger, even a stronger Islamic block, more fundamentalist.
And today, I want to join with the 1.5 billion Muslims around the world – and your families and friends – in welcoming the beginning of Ramadan, and wishing you a blessed month. May God’s peace be upon you.
1.5?
Back in August of 2007 I queried here:
How many Americans know that when Obama had his bloviating screed "The Audacity of Hope" translated into Indonesian - the title went from "The Audacity of Hope" to "Jihad: From Jakarta To The Whitehouse". The man is dishonest about his Islamic leanings. Check this our from An American expat Living in Indonesia:
Jihad: From Jakarta To The Whitehouse American Expat in Indonesia
When I first saw the recently released Indonesian translation of Barack Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming The American Dream", over here in Southeast Asia I was completely taken aback not only by the violent imagery in new title of the book, "Menerjang Harapan: Dari Jakarta Menuju Gedung Putih", but by the fact that it was not really a translation at all, but rather a completely different title than the original book.
A correct translation of the title of Obama's book would have been "Keberanian Harapan: Pemikiran Untuk Meraih Kembali Impian America" which translates into "Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming The American Dream". However, the title for the Indonesian translation of Barack Obama's book is "Menerjang Harapan: Dari Jakarta Menuju Gedung Putih" which translates into "Assault Hope: From Jakarta to the White House".
[...]Why would the publishers drastically change the title of the book for the Indonesian translation and make use of such figurative language? Your guess is as good as mine, but it would seem that Barack Obama is quite interested with promoting himself in Southeast Asia as a crusader for the cause of Indonesia's Muslims.
Read it all.......most disturbing.
