HOW OBAMA IS ENCOURAGING ISLAMIC JIHAD

The rising cases of home-grown Islamist Radicalism in the US and the several terror plots that were discovered in 2009 in the US are alarming.

The five Moslem students who went to Pakistan to wage Jihad against their own country, the Fort Hood Massacre, and the latest Christmas airline terror attempt are just a few examples of many. 

In trying to understand this trend in the first year of the current Administration, one should question whether some actions of President Obama are perceived in a way that is encouraging the Jihadists to intensify their attacks on the US.

Firstly, from a cultural perspective, the Arab world resonates with appearances of strength and weakness.

This could be related to the admiration of the role played by wars and the military defeat of non-Moslems in the early expansion of Islam or it could be also be related to the classical Islamic notion of God that is based on ‘fear’ from his power. Other factors such as ancient Arabic poems that glorified tribal warfare played a role in creating this mentality that respects power.

Irrespective of the cause of this psychological makeup, it is vital to mention that actions taken by the US in its outreach efforts to the Moslem world must be evaluated carefully so that they are not perceived by the Jihadists as signs of weakness.

A delicate balance is needed so that the US can win the hearts and minds of moderate Moslems without being perceived as a weak country as this perception can actually aggravate the problem of Jihadism.

Some of the actions of President Obama that could have been perceived as weakness by the Jihadists include:

1-     Excessive bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia instead of giving him the normal Saudi greetings or hug. Bowing is seen by many Moslems as a sign of extreme weakness and an act of worship that should be given only to God. President Obama could have given the king a traditional Saudi hug without doing an act of worship as the latter would only make the President perceived as weak in the eyes of the radicals.

2-    Giving the closure of Guantanamo Bay a priority on the President’s agenda was another action that could have been perceived as a sign of weakness by many radicals. Many believed that the existence of the Guantanamo Bay prison was used as a recruitment tool for Al-Qaeda. However, statistics are showing that the number of terror attempts and attacks on the US have actually increased after active steps were taken to close the prison when President Obama took office in 2009. 

3-     Raising the issue of possible punishment for CIA officials for using tough measures against the terrorists could be perceived by the Jihadists as another sign of US weakness. This issue should have been dealt with in a very secretive manner within the government to avoid giving the Jihadists a feeling of victory that might encourage them to do more attacks on the US – as well as revealing sensitive information regarding our intelligence gathering methods.  

4-    Defending the rights of Moslem women to wear the Hijab without showing the same level of care to defending the rights of Moslem women who want to practice their freedom to be ‘westernized’ or to choose their faith has sent another message of weakness that could aggravate Islamic radicalism. The president praised Nashala Hearn (a Moslem) from Muskogee, Oklahoma for standing for her right to wear the Hijab and invited her to be a guest in Ramadan dinner at the White House in September 2009.

On the other hand, the President did not show the same level of care by showing a clear stand beside Moslem women who want to practice their freedom in the US. One of the recent Moslem victims for freedom was Noor Faleh Almaleki- a 20-year-old woman from Iraq who was killed in the US by her father who ran her over with a car because she had become "too westernized".

Furthermore, President Obama neither praised nor invited Rifqa Bary (a Moslem convert to Christianity) – who could be killed for apostasy inside the US according to Islamic Sharia rules – to show a similar stand  with her rights to choose her beliefs.

Showing such care to young Moslem women who want to wear the Hijab and failure to show the same level of care to Moslem women who want to be ‘westernized’ or who want to practice freedom of religion in the US was another action that can only be perceived as weakness by the Jihadists that invites more aggression against the US.

The above factors may not be perceived as weakness in Western minds; however, what is more important is how they are perceived in the Jihadists’ and Radical’s minds.

It is critical to US national security that presidential actions not be interpreted as weakness, because if so, this will actually aggravate Islamic Radicalism. A careful balance and consideration of cultural notions is needed in US diplomacy to ‘win the hearts and minds’ of Moslems without being perceived as weak.

US actions need to be developed and carried out through the lens of the target audience – not from a Western perspective – in order to create a positive impact on the Moslem world.

Dr. Tawfik Hamid, MD, is a Moslem from Egypt who has rejected Salafism, the terrorist version of Islam, for Sufism, the peaceful version of Islam.  He is the author of Inside Jihad:  Understanding and Confronting Radical Islam.