Division in Muslim World Over President-Elect Obama
November 25, 2008 – 4:30 pmDaniel Pipes [bio]compiles the major viewpoints from around the Muslim world concerning the election of Barack Obama. Note the motivation behind each country’s endorsement of a candidate.
Barack Hussein in Arabic means “the blessing of Hussein.” In Persian, Obama translates as “He [is] with us.” Thus does the name of the presumptive American president-elect, when combined with his physical attributes and geography, suggest that the End of Times is nigh – precisely what Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been predicting.
Back down on earth, the Muslim reaction to Obama’s victory is more mixed than one might expect.
American Islamists are delighted; an umbrella group, the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Election, opined that, with Obama’s election, “Our nation has … risen to new majestic heights.” Siraj Wahhaj, Al-Hajj Talib Abdur Rashid, the Council on American Islamic Relations, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, and the Muslim Alliance in North America responded with similar exuberance.
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