Obama, the Middle East and Islam - An Initial Assessment

Submitted by Prof. Paul Eidelberg (Israel), Feb 3, 2009 at 17:23

In his Inaugural Address, President Barack Hussein Obama declared that America is "a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus—and non-believers." According to Islam, however, all non-Muslims are "non-believers" or "infidels." Included among such non-believers are all the signers of the American Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution.

Mr. Obama, as a disciple of CHANGE, must be understood as a historical evolutionist. He therefore represents the antithesis of the American Declaration of Independence. The Declaration is rooted in immutable principles, in ethical and political teachings having their origin in Jerusalem and Athens—not in Mecca and Medina. I refer to the ethical monotheism of the Jews and the natural rights doctrine of the Greeks.

Contrary to his pre-election campaign, and as noted by Dr. Pipes, President Obama is now vaunting his Muslim background. It was as if he were ignorant of the fact that the democratic principle of equality, which he emphasized in his Inaugural Address, is not exalted in Islam's sacred book the Quran. Neither are such notions as human rights, pluralism, and tolerance. We may go even further.

The Quran contradicts the "self-evident" truths enunciated in the American Declaration of Independence. Properly understood, that is, without fear of arousing resentment, Islam rejects the Bible's conception of man's creation in the image of God. It logically follows from this denial that Islam is a form of racism! Hardly anyone has the courage to say this. But this means, contrary to President Obama's Inaugural Address, America, most emphatically, is NOT a Muslim country!

The American Declaration of Independence therefore rejects the Islamic belief that the Quran is the repository of truth. I know of no academic that addresses this subject. Hardly anyone dares expose the fundamental contradictions between the Judeo-Christian teachings embodied in the Declaration—which Lincoln called "our ancient faith"—and the teachings of Islam. Can anyone imagine Lincoln including in "our ancient faith" the teachings of Muhammad?

From the preceding we may reasonably infer that President Barack Obama is animated by a very new "Declaration of Independence," one of which the American people are utterly oblivious. This new Declaration—or new faith—may very well undermine America and its ability to salvage what's left of Western civilization from the creeping encroachment Islamic totalitarianism.

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