Obama to Speak from Cairo
President Obama will fulfill his pledge to make a major address to the Muslim world from a Muslim capital from Cairo on June 4.
Although Egypt has a soft dictatorship and so might not be the best venue from the point of view of human rights, it has other advantages. Its population is over 80 million, and so comprises at least a third of the Arab world. Its movies, novels and politics are immensely popular in the Arab world.
It is that cultural and political centrality of Cairo, which Egyptians call "the mother of the world", that make sense of the president's choice.
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posted by Juan Cole @ 5/09/2009 12:17:00 AM
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9 Comments:
I'm glad he's also speaking in Cairo, but why wasn't Obama's speech in Turkey a fulfillment of his pledge to give a speen from a Muslim country?
"Although Egypt has a soft dictatorship and so might not be the best venue from the point of view of human rights..."
Any other ideas on where he should speak from the Middle East? Well, other than Israel, you would be hard pressed to find a country that isn't defined as a soft to hard dictatorship by those standards.
"Although Egypt has a soft dictatorship and so might not be the best venue from the point of view of human rights..."
Egypt is a hard dictatorship but evidently that is where Obama wishes to speak of democracy, or is this a return for Egypt being so brutal to Palestinians in Gaza?
Turkey? Indonesia? Too democratic for Obama.
That was exactly my thought, Steve... which Muslim Middle East country is not a dictatorship? They all have serious human rights issues. (and that would even include Israel, which is obviously not Muslim, but nominally a democracy)
Turkey is considered Europe rather than the Middle East, so it wouldn't fulfill the pledge.
CH
"President Obama will fulfill his pledge to make a major address to the Muslim world from a Muslim capital from Cairo on June 4."
Pakistan would have been far more acceptable even with the war, since Pakistan is a democracy.
I can't wait for an hour long speech of preaching and generalisations leading to false hope and the same continuing failing U.S policies toward the region.
Shaking with excitement.
@Anonymous #1
I believe the wording used by Obama's team was "Islamic capital", thus ruling out the secular Ankara.
@Anonymous #3
Both are technically secular countries despite being Muslim majority
to Steve
Gaza under Israel's (your favorite) murderous siege is MORE democratic than Israel. It has not 2 sorts of citizens. Exactly for it Gaza (and Palestinians as a people) is punished by "democratic" USA, Europe and so on.
And Iran, by the way, is more democratic than Israel - see life of Iranian Jews versus life of Israel Palestinian citizens
But of course, Obama's speeches are so much hot air, while he goes on with USA imperialist politcs - wars, threats and so on
Obama is speaking to the people of the Muslim world, not the politicans. If he would only visit democratic nations around the world, nothing would change. Should we who comment here refuse to visit any nation in the world that is not democratic?
A new world of good relations. Give peace and negotiations a chance.
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