Discerning Foreign Policy

The separation of church and state doesn’t guarantee us a separation of religion and politics.
President George W. Bush was the first president to acknowledge the Muslim world in his inaugural address. In 2004, the newly reelected president said that our “character” is “sustained in our national life by […] the words of the Koran”.
This was a bold move, made even bolder by the knowledge that the country was still in the throes of 9/11. In this speech, Bush made the distinction between Islam and some of its radical followers who used it to rationalize a heinous act. In his presidency following 9/11, Bush often used the phrase “war on terror,” but many interpreted it, however inaccurately, as a war on Islam itself.
Enter President Obama. Barack Hussein Obama.
Obama traveled to Turkey on his recent tour abroad, speaking to Turkish Parliament and other groups. According to The New York Times, Obama told the Turkish Parliament, “America’s relationship with the Muslim community, the Muslim world, cannot and will not just be based upon opposition to terrorism.” Obama went on to cite his own Muslim background as evidence that the United States appreciates Islamic heritage.
But will Obama’s recognition of his Muslim background really lead the United States and the Muslim world to better relations than we saw under Bush? UGA students are glad to see Obama’s efforts, but believe that they must be reinforced to make significant changes in the relationship between the United States and the Muslim world.
“It would certainly improve relations on one half,” said Siavash Samei, a UGA alumnus. “The other half is to also make sure that the Islamic world is…willing to accept such an invitation to be a bit more cooperative. Just because Obama is willing to do that doesn’t mean the Islamic world is also ready to take that step forward.”
Kevin Kim, a UGA student, agreed that Obama’s heritage and new efforts to reach out to the Muslim community will not be enough. “There will always be those radicals and terrorists who just hate America,” he said.
Others believe that Obama has to gain the ground that Bush lost in his depictions of Muslims after 9/11. “I think he did an injustice to the people who practice that religion,” said UGA student Shannon Banks. “Now the average American mindset is that all believers of Islam are radicals or extremists.”
Banks concurred that Obama’s remarks in Turkey must be the beginning of a new policy. “I don’t think [his background] in itself will necessarily improve the relations,” he said. “It’s whether or not he’s going to make a conscious effort…not all Muslim believers are extremists.”