Obama's Cairo speech

Submitted by Gloria Stewart (United States), Jun 8, 2009 at 15:15

President Obama's Cairo speech was reprehensible on two levels. First, it was dangerous, and second it was full of lies.

To take the first point: Given the mentality of the Muslim outlook, the jihadist, triumphalist, absolutist mindset, reaching out the hand of friendship is viewed by them as tribute and weakness. At best it whets the Muslim appetite for more, and at worst it is an invitation to attack.

Second, while lying in politics may not be a vice, lying poorly is. President Obama gave the Muslims credit for contributions to the West that were made by non Muslims. Muslims contributed nothing to the Renaissance or to the Enlightenment. They were incapable of it. Despite their vaunted claims, they did not invent printing (the Chinese did) nor algebra (the Hindus did) nor did they contribute to any degree to physics and astronomy. A search of any scientific text written before political correctness invaded the world would not even show a mention of Islamic contributions. I have said that they were incapable of it. Let me explain why. Muslim scholars agreed during the Middle Ages that science was not a proper field for Muslims because it was based on the acceptance, as a starting point, of rigid laws. That would infer that Allah was bound by natural law, and Islam could not accept that.

It is not surprising that Islam calls for the death of an apostate and applies draconian measures against blasphemy. It is also not surprising that the definition of blasphemy is so flexible. There is no reasoning in Islam; no analysis, no debate. There is only obedience. This hardly sets the stage for scientific progress.

Islam is a seventh century creed which is on life suport from the West. We should not ask whether the Islamic world loves us. We should ask whether they fear us.

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