Obama and Sarkozy

[al-Najashi]

Any thoughts on US President Obama's recent speech in Egypt?
To go along with this, I've been wondering what role politicians ought to play in issues related to interfaith relations. Sometimes politicians are representing their respective countries, but they are not necessarily representing the specific faiths. This may be an even more confusing aspect in the West, where we have a much more rigid separation between Church and State--although President G.W. Bush seemed to cross those lines with some of his statements... I recommend a really good talk given at Yale University by Joseph Cumming on this topic. See this link: http://www.yaletomorrow.yale.edu/audioforweb/mp3/Miroslav%20Volf,%20Director%20of%20the%20Yale.mp3

How about French Prime Minister Sarkozy's recent statement that the Burqa debases women?
Again, this is a value judgment being made by a political, not religious leader. Can this be true in all cases? Sure, you may be able to cite some cases where this is true, but I see women in Burqas all the time in India--how many feel debased, devalued, dehumanized? I'm sure there are some who may and do feel this way...but those that my wife has talked to predominately don't think so. Actually, it's great protection from groping males who can't keep their hands and eyes to themselves. Of course, this doesn't insure protection, but it staves off some of the worse possibilities. I wonder if Sarkozy is aware that Christian women in other countries also wear "burka-like" apparel. What would he say if he went to the Coptic Church of Ethiopia and saw Christian women wearing something like a Burqa. Would it be evidence of Christian debasement of women?

Secondly, couldn't that statement cut both ways? I can think of other types of debasement of women. How about using sexually explicit images to sell products? Isn't it just as debasing to use a woman's body to try and sell the latest soap, deodorant, or perfume?

I think it's sad when secular politicians of countries who are perceived to be "Christian" are making statements critical of Islam. Although, I'm even more annoyed when it's Christian leaders of supposed "Christian" countries making critical statements of Islam too. Often we've neglected to take the log out of our eye in order to publicly assist someone else in getting the splinter out of their own...