Obama flubs name of host university; defends hijab

Thu, 06/04/2009 - 7:41am

I just watched the video of Obama's speech in Cairo, and I must say, I cringed when he said this line: "For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning, and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement."

Oddly, he pronounced Al-Azhar as "ulazar," and not "al azz har," as it should be pronounced. You'd think he would have been coached on that one. (Michael Goldfarb will be disappointed to learn that the U.S. president is not a secret Arabic speaker after all.)

Maybe Obama should have used phonetic spellings, like his predecessor often did?

The speech was mostly good, but it did contain some oddities, such as its repeated references to the hijab, the head scarf that many Muslim women wear. Obama seems to view this controversial article of clothing uncritically, reserving his comments for those, presumably in France and Britain, who support banning the hijab in public schools and so forth:

[T]he U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it. [...] [I]t is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit – for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism. [...] I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal.

Obama should understand that women in Muslim communities don't always feel that they have a choice about wearing the hijab. I heard many liberal, secular women in Cairo complain that they felt great social pressure bearing down upon them to cover their hair, and that the religious trend in the country meant the pressure was only increasing. A nod to such women's concerns would have been nice to hear.

UPDATE: Peter Daou has more on the hijab:

With women being stoned, raped, abused, battered, mutilated, and slaughtered on a daily basis across the globe, violence that is so often perpetrated in the name of religion, the most our president can speak about is protecting their right to wear the hijab?

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the hijab

by aurora on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 9:42am

The perceived lack of respect for Islam in America, and the West generally, is a BIG issue for many Muslims, and Obama's comments strike me as a very simple, "cost-effective" way to demonstrate respect for the beliefs of many Muslim people. Obama also made clear his commitment to religious freedom several times. As for Egypt itself, there is, of course, a great deal of social pressure, but social pressure is not law or force and women are not being assaulted for not covering. In fact, an Egyptian friend of mine actually UNCOVERED a couple years ago: family and friends were not all pleased, but she was able to move along with her life without any serious repercussions, personally or professionally. In any case, it's not Obama's job to be trying to micromanage other people's cultures: it's up to those people themselves, in dialog with each other, to find the balances and compromises that are available to them. Let's fight to help these countries develop their full human and economic potential: that will do far far more for women's rights than lecturing.

Religious freedom

by Lure D. Lou on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 12:04pm

is an oxymoron...respect for tolerance of religion, as opposed to tolerant religions, has become a convenient way for politicians to overcome the tricker issue of human rights....the west has transcended religions strangle-hold on politics...most of the world hasn't and in the case of Iran and some Arab countries, has actually moved backwards.

It sickens us non-believers to hear someone as smart as Obama allowing religious freedom become a code for suppressing human rights.

to Parphrase Hussein

by AllanGreen on Fri, 06/05/2009 - 8:50am

"The US government has gone to great lengths to kiss Islamic ass...from caving in on the Cartoons, to defending patriarchal chastity, to tolerating totalitarianism, hatred, bigotry, and hypocracy...we've financed Al-Qaida, the Taleban, and paled around with Said Bana - heck, if it wasn't for the US, the Muslim Brotherhood wouldn't be here, and it was with the help of the Israeli ministry of defence that Hamas incubated - Al Jazeera exists thanks to the BBC, and the only open forum in the middle east, is the Doha Debates, with Tim Sebastian - so while we kiss your ass, now you can kiss ours".

I thank Obama for making Islam an even bigger issue than Bush did!

Let's not forget that he also

by Kristen Chick on Fri, 06/05/2009 - 10:09am

Let's not forget that he also mispronounced the word 'hijab' itself - it came out as 'hajeeb.' Clearly he needed to be better coached on the correct pronunciation of the Arabic words in his speech.

hijab and human rights

by Eric Angeles on Fri, 06/05/2009 - 1:54pm

I think Obama's comments regarding the hijab and women's rights in Muslim-majority countries were appropriate. With reference to the hijab, Obama attempted to place the US above European countries in religious tolerance. It was a shrewd move to avoid making demands that Muslim states change their policies. I agree with "aurora" on this point. Keep in mind that women only gained the right to vote in the United States about a hundred years ago, and they gained that right in France in the 1960s. In the grand scale of political modernization and the development of civilizations, I would say the Muslim world is not so far behind.

Also, keep in mind that women's rights have become a legitimation for "humanitarian intervention" which is the cause for much resentment of the United States by some groups in the Middle East. Once it was revealed that weapons of mass destruction were not in fact found in Iraq, Bush quickly changed his tune to defend women's rights.

I don't believe this is the type of reform that can be ordered from the imperial core. Remember that Obama did< implore Muslim states to extend education to women. This is the type of reform that leads to self-determination, gender equality, and so on.

Wrong on the Scarf

by AllanGreen on Fri, 06/05/2009 - 4:35pm

You are wrong - the only country in question which has been tough on veils is france. Then there is Turkey, which beginning in the twenties (yes, twenties) outlawed the scarf in government places and schools.

Guess where Muslims feel the most integrated (relatively speaking) in Europe?

France.

Muslims in America are mostly educated, when not speaking of Blacks.

We have about 2 million migrants from Muslim countries, and most have a secondary degree and are middle class.

Europe has 89 percent uneducated muslims, and france alone has 8 million.

So please, don't get too confused about policies. The scarf is a symbol of patriarchalism and oppression, and if we don't make that clear to low-class immigrant muslims, we are throwing away the cause of women's rights, and our prosperity with it.

So true

by Rabab Kamal on Wed, 06/10/2009 - 7:38am

Concerning the HIjab in Egypt you are totally right , women face a lot of pressure to wear the Hijab from the community despite the fact that our gov. is secular ..... I am one of those Muslim women , but the difference is I refuse to wear the Hijab and believe me it is not an easy choice, threats and harassment are always there
in 2006 , the Muslim brotherhood petitioned President Mubarak to issue a decree making Hijab mandatory
Mubarak refused completely
let us say that only 10 % of the Muslim women did not give in and wear the veil
the 10 % angered the fanatics so much so now they turned on the Christians, they tried to convince christian women that the veil is manadatory in their religion as well
ofcourse nobody responded to that
So yes I and many others feel betrayed because of Obama's comment on the Hijab , the right thing to say is that women are free to choose their attire either it is the veil or not
the unfortunate thing is that Liberals might one day accept the veil because of religious beliefs but one thing is for sure fanatics will never accept liberals
Obama's comment made us feel as if he was ready to sell us to the wolves just for the sake of kissing A**

So true

by Rabab Kamal on Wed, 06/10/2009 - 7:39am

Concerning the HIjab in Egypt you are totally right , women face a lot of pressure to wear the Hijab from the community despite the fact that our gov. is secular ..... I am one of those Muslim women , but the difference is I refuse to wear the Hijab and believe me it is not an easy choice, threats and harassment are always there
in 2006 , the Muslim brotherhood petitioned President Mubarak to issue a decree making Hijab mandatory
Mubarak refused completely
let us say that only 10 % of the Muslim women did not give in and wear the veil
the 10 % angered the fanatics so much so now they turned on the Christians, they tried to convince christian women that the veil is mandatory in their religion as well
of course nobody responded to that
So yes I and many others feel betrayed because of Obama's comment on the Hijab , the right thing to say is that women are free to choose their attire either it is the veil or not
the unfortunate thing is that Liberals might one day accept the veil because of religious beliefs but one thing is for sure fanatics will never accept liberals
Obama's comment made us feel as if he was ready to sell us to the wolves just for the sake of kissing A**