As-Salam Alaikum, Brothers (Sisters are lesser humans)

President Obama's speech in Cairo, Egypt today was an eye opener for many reasons and on many levels.

He opened his speech with the standard Arabic Muslim greeting, 'As-salam Alaikum', with an eerily uncomfortable familiarity.  When JFK said 'Ich bin ein Berliner', it was understood that  everyone in the West stood against the East in the Cold War.  What does is say when our current President says, 'May Allah's peace be with you', and may imply even more!

The true meaning of "As-Salam Alaikum" is not a mere "Hi", "Hello", "How are you" as we are accustomed to using today - it has a much deeper meaning than just a standard greeting. In actuality, there are three meanings for this greeting:

1. As-Salam, as we know, is one of the names of Allah. Thus, when we say "As-Salam Alaikum" we are actually saying that may the trait of Allah (as-Salam or peace and tranquility be upon you and may He protect you;
2. As-Salam is also in the meaning of submission or surrender. Thus, when we say "As-Salam Alaikum" we are actually saying that we submit to what you would like for us to do (obviously within the limits of the Shariah);
3. As-Salam is also in the meaning of protection or safety. Thus in this meaning, when we greet another believer with "As-Salam Alaikum" we are actually guaranteeing our believing brother or sister protection from any evil from ourselves and that we will not do a single thing to harm them - either physically or even spiritually. Not only would we not harm them with our hands, but we will also not cause them grief with our tongue...

 From 'http://masooma.blogspot.com/2008/01/meaning-of-as-salam-alaikum.html'

Shake off your outdated Christian American ideology for a moment and axe yourself, just what was PBO saying to the audience and the world at Cairo University?  Did his famous smile and wink, after saying 'Salam Alaikum'   he really mean 'Peace be unto you.', or did it really belie his emerging policy of  submission and surrender?

He introduced himself as Barack Hussein Obama, something he never did during his campaign.  Those that did use his full name were chastised by the media.  He gave his lineage as a Kenyan father whose history was Muslim, while during his campaign, his father was just 'Black'.    Apparently now he is revealing his true self, and of course, the media will not take him to task for these contradictions.

 He excoriated Israel for their settlements in land they conquered (in the same 'accepted' fashion by which most nations grew:  war).  He promoted a Palestinian state, at the expense of Israel, as the solution for the tensions in the Mid-East.  He denigrated our ally and the only true democracy in the Middle-East.

Have you yet questioned this guys intentions?  They are becoming clearer by the day.  I quote from his Cairo speech:

 'So let there be no doubt, Islam is a part of America'

'I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed.'

 'I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear'

'The U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.'

'When the first Muslim-American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson, kept in his personal library.'  (Thomas Jefferson acquired this Koran to understand the mind of his enemy, the Barbary Pirates.  He was not an admirer of Islam as PBO would have your believe.)

I have a number of Jewish friends.  I have yet to figure out why they, by-in-large, vote Democrat.  Regardless, I am hearing an immense dissatisfaction with 'Democrat' PBO among them.  They might not be Republicans, but they are not Socialists and certainly not believers in Islam.  They are not happy with PBO's idea of a separate Palestinian state.  Their points:

Why is the construct of a divided Israel the only solution?  Why not go back further and look to the history of the area, such as the Trans-Jordan,  the Balfour Declaration of 1917, and the U.N. partition plan of 1947.

There never was a country of Palestine.  It was just a reference to an area of the Ottoman empire.  Palestine became Trans-Jordan as a remnant of the Ottoman empire after WWI.  It included what is now Israel, Jordan and some of the Sinai.  Colonial Britain gained authority.   

European Jews, suffering from discrimination and pogroms, had migrated to the area since the late 1800's.  Britain could not control it.  Therefore, the Balfour Declaration stated it was in the interest of the British Empire to  create a Jewish state in Palestine.  It did not happen until the  creation of the United Nations after WWII and the Partition Plan of 1947. 

Britain, wanted out.  The Zionists wanted in.  And the Syria and Jordan's Hashemite kings did not want  nomadic Palestinians in their kingdoms.

The British got out.  The Zionists got in and got attacked by Syria, Jordan and Egypt, and won.  Syria and Jordan used the confusion of war to exile their  Palestinians into the new Israel.

So why is the so-called 'Palestinian Question' a question only for Israel?  Both Jordan and Syria contributed to the original problem.  They need to repatriate their exiles as part of the solution.

Now that PBO is revealing his true identity, we all should each examine our own personal politics.

Are we actually ' one of the largest Islamic countries in the world', or did  we become a great nation based on our founding by Christian men with Christian beliefs?

Does America need to apologize for its actions since 9/11?  Should we also apologize for military actions that benefited Muslims?  Defeating the Ottomans in  WWI, Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq?  And, feeding Somali's or the Indonesian (actually, the largest Muslim country) victims of the 12/26/2004 tsunami.

How many of your individual freedoms are you willing to cede to PBO's government of change in pursuit of your perceived improved happiness?

 There was a question on the Florida Concealed Weapons applications:  'Have you renounced your American citizenship?'  The only answers were Yes or No.

 I wanted to say 'Not Yet!'