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Home Front: Politix
New envoy hopes to better explain U.S. to Muslim world
2008-03-11
An American Muslim, appointed new U.S. envoy, headed off Monday with the goal of repairing the battered image of the United States in the Muslim world.
They're not listening.
I think they understand us only too well. That's the trouble.
Sada Cumber, a Pakistani native, is the new special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Conference, a caucus of 57 Muslim nations.
Hope ya got Permanent Resident status in the US, dude. You're gonna need it soon.
They couldn't find anybody smart enough to do the job that'd been born in Wyoming or Texas or Noo Joisey.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at a reception for conference countries at the State Department that Cumber will help the United States explain itself to the Muslim world.
Right. Explain to them that we believe in individual liberty, that we don't believe in one religion lording it over all others, that if a free man decides he doesn't want to be a Moose limb or a Methodist or a Hindoo then there's nobody that can tell him to. That'll go over big in Lahore, won't it?
Rice said Islam is an important part of the American fabric of life. "Our growing Muslim population is a great and welcome addition to our country," she said at a gathering of diplomats from conference member countries at the State Department.
I certainly hope she's saying that to be polite. The Muslim population is no "greater" than the Salvadoran or Guatamalan or Hmong segment, and as yet probably smaller than the first two. And many of us find the thought of large numbers of Islamist holy man tromping around our country eying up the "uncovered meat" with just about as much welcome as we'd extend to termites.
I especially like the part where they show up and demand everybody change everything to fit their religious demands.
Cumber, an entrepreneur living in Texas, was most recently chairman and CEO of SozoTek, a wireless imaging company. He said he plans to travel extensively and use his business background and experience to build bridges between the United States and the Muslim world. "As an American Muslim, I believe I am in a unique position to promote dialogue," he said before leaving Washington for an Organization of Islamic Conference meeting later this week in Senegal. The Jeddah-based conference is the world's largest pan-Islamic group.

President Bush announced his intention last June to appoint an envoy to the conference, but took his time in making an appointment. "The core of his mission is to explain to the Islamic world that America is a friend, is a friend of freedom, is a friend of peace, that we value religion," Bush said last month when he formally announced Cumber's appointment. "It's an important job, there is a lot of misperceptions about America and Sada is going to be a part of our effort to explain the truth."
W, Western qualities don't fit well into their fundamental power structure.
Posted by:gorb

#7  Rice said Islam is an important part of the American fabric of life. "Our growing Muslim population is a great and welcome addition to our country,"

Obviously an appointed position.
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2008-03-11 18:34  

#6  An modern Ismaili is marginally better but their hands are hardly clean. The majority of Ismailis were from the Assassin sect until that unfortunate incident with the Mongols.
Posted by: ed   2008-03-11 18:26  

#5  this fellow is an Ismaili (a shia who believes the 7th Iman disappeared and will return as opposed to the mainstream Shia who believe the 12th Iman disappeared and will reappear).

The Ismailis are a non-violent bunch and are persecuted by both Sunnis and mainstream Shia.

Should be interesting at the OIC.
Posted by: mhw   2008-03-11 18:18  

#4  Wrong person, wrong side. The US ambassador to the OIC should be named Goldman.
Posted by: ed   2008-03-11 17:56  

#3  They're not listening.
I think they understand us only too well. That's the trouble.

Actually, they don't understand us at all - they play with the people in Washington. What we really need is someone like Petreaus in the White House, telling Iran that we'll turn their little piece of desert into a huge sheet of radioactive glass if they don't behave. We don't need to make nice - Arabs equate "nice" with "weak". We need to show the muzzies everywhere that when we've had enough, the other side ceases to exist. THAT is something they can understand.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2008-03-11 17:38  

#2  Rice said Islam is an important part of the American fabric of life. "Our growing Muslim population is a great and welcome addition to our country," she said at a gathering of diplomats from conference member countries at the State Department.

Piling it on a little thick there, Condi?
I won't miss you when you're gone...
Posted by: tu3031   2008-03-11 14:49  

#1  Rice said Islam is an important part of the American fabric of life.

Total crap. If you removed Islam from America we'd not notice. Even deleting every Scientologist would have a more noticeable effect.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2008-03-11 14:43  

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