Oh, please, we’ve been trying for years to court the “moderate Islamic world.” Do you seriously think Barry was the first? If you look at Bush’s speech on this matter, the introduction (telling Islam how great it was, how the US didn;t want to impose anything, etc.) was identical.
Islam doesn’t care. It wants to dominate. Barry is probably actually URI (United Religions Initiative - Google it) and thinks this will win them over for the major cult, which will be all about him.
The difference is that Bush never offered himself as the Muslim messiah, and Barry has. Many of them will like this and go with him because they think he will convert the US into something like Saudi Arabia, subject to sharia but wealthy, and some of them will not and will still continue to attack, just as Muslims in Iraq are always attacking less orthodox Muslims in Iraq.
Thoughtful response, thank you Livius. “We’ve been trying this for years”... I agree. But that is no reason to stop trying. I disagree that “Islam doesn’t care. It wants to dominateâ€. I believe that domination is the aim of a radical and very dangerous minority. I agree that “Bush never offered himself as the Muslim messiah”...but after watching O’s speech today, I don’t believe he is not doing that either. Could another perspective be that O’s remarks resonate with the majority of moderate Muslim’s in a way that Bush’s did not. And yes, I agree that there will be some who “will continue to attack” us to the last man or woman. We may be able to mitigate this risk with the help of the moderates. As for the URI; after reviewing its web page, it looks more like an ‘ecumenical movement’ than anything sinister. Is there anything wrong with different religions talking with one another, sharing their beliefs? I don’t see anything on that web page that makes me fear for my own beliefs (Catholic).