In case you missed any of the President's 6,000-word speech yesterday in Cairo, I have included it below. Here are a few annotated passages:
The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President John Adams wrote, "The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims."
The Treaty of Tripoli of 1796 was the earliest attempt by America to appease Muslim terrorists. We paid off the Barbary Coast (Tripoli, Algiers, Morocco and Tunis) Muslims, as did the French with the Vikings and the Romans with the Barbarians. While the quotation is from the Treaty, the Treaty was merely signed by President John Adams; thus, the quotation is not his. Also, the English translation of the Treaty is considered by scholars to be erroneous an it is questionable whether the quoted passage is contained in the original Treaty. Lastly, the Treaty worked so well that President Jefferson had to send the newly-minted Marines "to the shores of Tripoli".
Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed - more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today...On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead.
The Palestians' sufferings can never be equated to the systematic extermination of an entire People (of which many Muslims, such as the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, were complicit). Anyone who believes the comparison betwixt the two is accurate should spend more time investigating the Holocaust. I suggest you begin with the personal concentration camp account by the Christian Corrie Ten Boom, The Hiding Place, and the "Why We Fight" episode of the miniseries "Band of Brothers". There is no comparison. The Palestinians were akin to the French of New Orleans after the Louisiana Purchase. If the Cajuns had attacked Americans continually, they too would have been surrounded by troops and checkpoints. Also, the Palestinians who reside in refugee camps are there because they refused to live with Jews and because no Muslim countries would have them.
Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country.
I know it's been a long time since the President lived in Indonesia, but is he not aware that Indonesian Christians, especially schoolgirls, are regularly beheaded as Muslim trophies? As to Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition, I've got nothing. Looks like I'm not the only perplexed blogger. Anyone with a clue, please pass it on.
I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal...Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.
The only people I have heard who called a woman with covered her hair less equal are Muslims. I hear it every time a woman is stoned, raped, lashed, beheaded, poisoned, or the victim of an "honor" killing. Adults can visit Atlas Shrugs for more information. As an American woman, I dispute the President's conclusion that we are less equal. I have never felt deprived of life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness and certainly never because I was born with ovaries.
The Holy Koran tells us, "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."
The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."
The Holy Bible tells us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth. Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you.
Why no Peace quote from the Koran? Is there one?
If you would like to write your own Obama Speach, this post at The Daily Beast will walk you through the steps. Just think of it as a Mad Lib guide.
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