Wait until they find out Obama is a Christian, says "scholar"

In a piece of wacky logic and the worst example of Orientalism I've ever seen in the New York Times, Edward Luttwak, a fellow with the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), has claimed that, if Muslims found out that Barack Obama "chose to become a Christian", they would try to kill him. According to Luttwak, the hope among many Americans that a victory by Obama in the general election would improve American relations with the Islamic world is "a mistake".

Luttwak disingenuously calls Obama "the son of the Muslim father" (sic), while Obama has written that his father had become an atheist before marrying Barack's mother. In Luttwak's words, this fact "makes no difference". But according to whom? Which Islamic scholar would say that a child born to an atheist father and an agnostic mother must practice Islam when he has grown up? Can Luttwack cite even one such scholar?

Further, Luttwak argues that "under Muslim law based on the Koran his mother's Christian background is irrelevant." This statement, I'm afraid, is a simple case of deception. There is nothing in the Qur'an about punishing apostates, so Luttwak strategically employs the words "based on". Secondly, I lived in Kuwait when a Kuwaiti Muslim converted to Christianity, changed his name to Robert Qambar, and was declared an apostate by conservative Kuwaiti Muslim groups. He fled to the US despite assurances of government protection, but eventually came back with his Christian wife and reconverted to Islam. During the discussion sparked by the case, it was said in the Kuwaiti media that the apostasy law does not apply to people born of at least one non-Muslim parent. In that case, how would they apply to someone born of one ex-Muslim and one non-Muslim parent?

More importantly, the entire premise of Luttwak's article is based on what may be charitably called a false assumption, and less charitably called a lie. He says "that most citizens of the Islamic world would be horrified by the fact of Senator Obama’s conversion to Christianity once it became widely known". As my wife, an American Muslim, said when she heard this, "it's not like Muslims live in a hole". I think most Muslims already know that Obama is a Christian. Hundreds of millions of Muslims speak English, and can follow the debates and discussions surrounding the race for the American presidency in the original language. Non-English-language media worldwide are also discussing Obama. All the fellow-Muslims I've spoken to about Obama support him and wish him well, without exception. Each one knows that he is a Christian.

Luttwak attempts to paint "most citizens of the Islamic world" as ignorant, irrational bigots. I am encouraged by the dozens of comments his article has generated on the New York Times website, almost all of which say that his argument is ridiculous. The amount of goodwill that has already been generated for Obama in the Muslim world is very considerable. Islam stands for justice, fairness, dignity, truth and peace. These are values that Obama espouses as well. It is these values that Muslims, like anyone else, want to see in a presidential candidate, especially one who is running for the leadership of the most powerful country in the world. So if Obama wins the election and then acts on these values of his, I think the United States will find millions of new Muslim friends around the world.

Kuwait plans to build synagogue

The Britain-based architect Eric Kuhne has announced plans to build a "City of Silk" in Kuwait as the country's own take on the historical Silk Road. The planned city is to lie on the northern shore of Kuwait Bay (most urban development in Kuwait so far has been concentrated to the south of the bay), and is to be 200 sq. km in size. According to Kuhne, the City of Silk is "the largest single real estate development in the Middle East."

In the commercial section of the city, which is to be crisscrossed with canals, there are plans to build a 1,001-m tall tower recalling the One Thousand and One Nights. At the top levels of the tower, there are plans to build three side-by-side houses of worship: a mosque, a church and a synagogue. The idea behind the move is to highlight the "unity" of the monotheistic religions (Arab Times).

It's great news if freedom of worship is to be increased in Kuwait, but I still wonder how the opening of a synagogue would play out, especially if there's yet another humanitarian disaster in Palestine around the time when it is inaugurated.

Views of Sunnis and Shi'ites on Iran and Ahmadinejad

According to the recent Pew Global Attitudes Survey (PDF here), 45% of Lebanese Muslims have a fabourable view of Iran, and 39% have a favourable view of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, 86% of Lebanese Shi'ite Muslims have a favourable view of Iran (a majority-Shi'ite country), while only 8% of Lebanese Sunni Muslims do. Similarly, 76% of Lebanese Shi'ites have a favourable view of Ahmadinejad, while only 5% of Lebanese Sunnis do.

In Kuwait, the divide is less stark. Overall, 37% of Muslims in Kuwait like Iran, and 25% like Ahmadinejad. While 51% of Shi'ites in Kuwait have a favourable view of Iran, only 34% of Sunnis do; while 51% of Shi'ites in Kuwait have a favourable view of Ahmadinejad, only 20% of Sunnis do.

In Africa, the difference is even less pronounced, but nevertheless exists. In Mali, 50% of Muslims overall like Iran, while 42% like Ahmadinejad. However, 54% of Malian Shi'ites have a favourable view of Iran, while 44% of Malian Sunnis do; 44% of Malian Shi'ites have a favourable view of Ahmadinejad, while 38% of Malian Sunnis do.

In Nigeria, 64% of Muslims like Iran, while 61% like Ahmadinejad. However, while 81% of Nigerian Sunnis have a favourable view of Iran, 75% of Nigerian Sunnis do; while 79% of Nigerian Shi'ites have a favourable view of Ahmadinejad, 76% of Nigerian Sunnis do.