Obama: Islam has shaped our world for the better

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Barack Obama, making his first visit to a Muslim nation as president, declared Monday that:

"We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better, including my own country... Let me say this as clearly as I can, the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical."

Let us contrast Obama's gushing admiration of Islam to the observations of Winston Churchill:

"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.

A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.

Individual Moslem's may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome."

I would say that Winston Churchill's observation is more rooted in reality. Here is Obama bowing and kissing the ring of the Saudi king, the "protector" of Islam's holy places. I can't imagine Winston Churchill groveling like that:

Who forgot to tell the president that the United States does not bow or kiss rings, especially not to the rulers of countries where women are less valuable than sheep? He just followed his natural instinct:
In your heart, you know he's Wright.