Muslims in Syria Like Obama’s Tone but Want New Policy
Thursday, June 04, 2009 - New America Media
DAMASCUS, Syria--Muslim shopkeepers, activists, and analysts in Damascus who watched Obama’s speech Thursday appreciated what they saw as a clear change in the U.S. attitude toward the Muslim world. But most are skeptical, saying they want a fundamental shift in American policy, not just a shift in rhetoric.
Many on the streets of the Syrian capital said they appreciated Obama’s citations of the Quran, which met with applause from his audience at Cairo University in Egypt, and his emphasis on mutual understanding. Many however, were turned off by his reiteration of the U.S.’ “unbreakable” bond with Israel.
“This was an important step toward real relations between American and the Muslim world,” said Dr. Salah Kustaro, the general director of the Abu Nour mosque in Syria. “When Obama translated Quranic verses, it was a major sign that his administration was serious.”
He agrees with Obama that Islamic extremism needs to be eradicated, but “extremism isn’t crushed by force. It is ended by encouraging moderate sheikhs and by ending occupations,” he said, referring to those in Iraq and Palestine.
A joint statement issued by Syrian-based Palestinian political factions, including Hamas, wrote off the speech completely, saying, “Obama’s speech is an attempt to mislead people and create more illusions to improve America’s aggressive image in the Arab and Islamic world.”
Others were reassured—if only slightly—about Obama’s assertion that the situation in Palestine is “intolerable.” Obama said the Palestinians “endure the daily humiliations—large and small—that come with occupation…America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.”
“This is definitely a new language we’ve never heard before,” said Sami Moubayed, Syrian analyst and editor of Forward magazine. He says Obama’s insistence that the U.S.’ bonds with Israel are “unbreakable” was to be expected. “This has been America’s rhetoric since 1948,” he said. “What is new is the message of dialogue, respect, and trying very hard to ally themselves with the Arab and Muslim street.”
In an Islamic bookstore near the Abu Nour mosque, Asad Khawajikiya, 33, echoed distrust common on the streets of Damascus. “Bush’s strategy was through war; Obama’s is through dialogue, but the goal is the same: to control the Arab and Muslim world,” he said. “Obama is just changing the style.”
Obama devoted a portion of his speech to addressing women’s rights as well as western misunderstandings about Muslim women. “I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal,” he said. “But I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality…I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal. And I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice.”
Dr. Maya Alrahabi, president of the Syria Committee for Supporting Women’s Issues, says she was agitated by Obama’s words. “I didn’t find anything new,” she said. “These are the same words that have been coming from the U.S. for years. American policies still oppress women. I don’t deny that women live under repressive circumstances in all Arab countries, but it’s not as bad as living under military occupation like in Iraq and Palestine.”
She believes the U.S.’ support for undemocratic regimes directly impacts the rights of women. “If Obama wants to support women in the Middle East he should pull his military in the region and stop supporting dictatorships, like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt that oppress women,” Alrahabi said. “How can he talk about women’s rights while he is speaking as a guest of the Mubarak regime, who is denying human rights to his own people in Egypt, men and women alike?”
Abdul Kareem Marideen, 33, a seller of Islamic texts, says Obama should follow up his speech with practical changes. He cited Obama’s commitment to relax rules on charitable giving as a good place to start. In his speech, Obama said, “in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That’s why I’m committed to work with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat,” --alms giving required in Islam.
Marideeni says if he means it, he should reverse the sentences of five men convicted in the United States last November for allegedly financing terrorist organizations. The men ran the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the largest Muslim charity organization in the country, and were accused of financing Hamas, listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department. Their organization gave more than $12 million to Palestinian schools and charities controlled by Hamas, the democratically elected party that governs the Gaza strip.
“Muslims need to be able to send money to their families and those in need without fearing reprisal,” Marideeni said.
In a falafel shop decorated with posters of the man who famously threw shoes at George Bush in his last visit to Iraq, Iraqi shop owner, Slah Abdul Razaq, fears that Obama will be restricted by internal and international pressures from enacting real change with the Muslim world. “His words are reasonable,” he said. “They aren’t threats like Bush’s. If his actions meet his rhetoric, then we will be off to a good start.”
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