The Ambassadors Magazine - January 2009

On the 20th of January 2009, Senator Barack Hussein Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America after a fierce election battle at a time when sitting President George W. Bush's approval ratings reached just 27%, lower than any former president in history! The election also coincided with the severest global economic crises in recent years!!

The world celebrated the election of Obama. The day after the election, my friend Toughan, the distinguished Egyptian politico-social cartoonist, published a cartoon showing Obama dusting off the Statue of Liberty. The cartoon expressed an important sentiment as it represented the world's dream of Obama removing the scars on the beautiful face of America, as would a cosmetic surgeon. The world wished to see the new president winning its confidence and trust, and improving his country's image worldwide.

It is impossible to forget what happened in Baghdad on December 14, 2008, when a 28-year old Iraqi journalist hurled both his shoes at President Bush during a press conference on his last visit to Iraq. Bush was at the podium with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki following a discussion about the Security Agreement between their nations. Denouncing him on live television, the journalist described the US president as a "dog" who delivered "death and sorrow" to Iraq in 6 years of war. The journalist shouted "this is the farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog" as he threw his first shoe which Bush ducked. He then picked up and tossed the second shoe, screaming "from the widows, orphans and those who were killed in Iraq." The day after this incident, Al-Gomhoriyah newspaper which Toughan founded along with former Egyptian Presidents Nasser and Sadat in 1953, published a cartoon showing a statue of the Iraqi journalist's shoe as a heroic memorial to his protest and a condemnation of Bush!

Prof Samer Shehata, Georgetown University told the Washington Post, "There is not really a strict hierarchy of insults." Yet striking someone with one's footwear is particularly offensive given that the sole of the foot comes into close contact with the filth of the earth. After the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein commissioned a mosaic of George HW Bush to be embedded on the floor of the lobby of Al-Rashidi Hotel, a favorite of journalists and foreigners. This forced hotel frequenters to tread upon the face of the former President. When George W. Bush's troops went into Iraq in 2003, they made sure to desecrate and deface the mosaic in his father's image.

Following this incident, the previously unknown Iraqi journalist Muntathar Al-Zaidi became an instant celebrity and hero for many. Wealthy Arabs competed for his shoes with bidding started at $10 million while the alleged manufacturer of the shoes saw his sales skyrocket. Al-Zaidi received marriage offers from rich Arab women and job contracts from various news agencies. Protests in many Arab and non-Arab countries marched using the shoe as a symbol, including one demonstration in front of the White House!

Few brave persons condemned the Iraqi journalists behavior. Dr. Yehia, a professor in Cairo University's Faculty of Medicine and son of the late Dr. Nour Eldin Tarraf, a former Egyptian Prime Minister, sent to Al-Ahram newspaper an article rejecting the act of throwing a shoe at anyone. He also highlighted the importance of respecting professional ethics of journalism. I am highly convinced of his view. It would have been more appropriate and dignified if the Iraqi journalist expressed his thoughts and sentiments without the use of his shoes. Also the use of the word "dog" in Arab and Islamic culture is considered very offensive given the religious views associated with dogs which are perceived as filthy animals.

Berlin; July 24: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama waves at the crowd at the Victory Column in Tiergarten park, Germany (Photo: Jae C. Hong/AP)

What happened from this journalist is a result of his irritation with the situation in Iraq and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. This does not mean all Arabs are anti-American, but means that they are anti-war and that your job is to make the changes that you offered during your election campaign and clean and polish the statue of Liberty and America's image to the world. Even before the election, people from all walks of life converged to see you and to touch the hope you offered. In an unusual show of solidarity with you, two hundred thousand Germans gathered to hear you speak in front of Berlin's Tiergarten park. On the day of your election, people around the world rejoiced in your success and saw their hopes in your hands. Many believe you are the deliverer of true and lasting change. You may have been selected as TIME Person of the Year for 2008, but history will judge you on whether you kept your promises in the years to come. You have a unique opportunity to change the course of history and a mandate from the global masses that supported your rise to power and are hopeful about your presidency. If you were to stand for the dignity and human rights of all peoples, you will have upheld your principles, redeemed your country, and contributed to a more peaceful world.

Mahmud Hams/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

It is difficult to conclude this editorial without mentioning the painful situation these days in the Middle East, the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The bloody conflict happening now in GAZA is disgusting and threatens our global values and respect for human rights for everyone in this area of the world. In a tiny area of land spanning 45 km, 1.5 million people are living in the one of the largest open-air prisons. It is your job to ensure that the world believes and knows America's commitment to human rights in the Middle East and beyond. Since you ran on a platform of "CHANGE," and offered hope to everyone, it is now your responsibility to offer the world a measure of peace, tranquility and coexistence that goes beyond the miseries of 2008.

The artist's brush tells a thousand words. In 2002, with the Saudi Arabian monarch King Abdullah's proposal for a comprehensive peace treaty between all the Arab nations and Israel, Toughan's brush showed jubilant optimism. But now in January 2009, following the bloody massacres of Gaza, peace is now left in tatters, and his caricatures express grief and pain.

The Prince of Saudi Arabia raises an olive branch at the Arab League meeting with his peace proposal (March 2002)

The corpse of the angel of peace lays victim atop the bodies and rubble of Gaza (January 2009)

In your mission to resolve conflict and pursue justice and equal rights for all, it is vital to have a guiding principle and a symbol that dates back thousands of years but is committed to the same values. The Ancient Egyptian Goddess Ma'at is considered the personification of TRUTH, JUSTICE and ORDER, and depicted as a woman wearing a feather upon her head. The hearts of the deceased are weighed against her feather during Judgment. The heart of a 'Speaker of Truth' weighs the same as the feather of Maat! I hope that as President you can benefit from the wisdom of Ma'at which prescribes a basis for balance in life and ensures that its delicate equilibrium is not disturbed. It is also a true judgment of honesty and equality, both of which were central to your meteoric rise to power. When your time in office is over, we hope you and the world will look back at your accomplishments fondly, celebrating your contributions to equality and prosperity not just of your countrymen and women, but all of humanity.

Our dream that you will keep your promises to millions of your admirers, that you are truly a "Speaker of Truth" whose heart is lighter than a feather, we hope you will uphold the integral values of peace, dignity, respect, and equality for all.

We invite readers to send their thoughts and opinions about their hopes and dreams of the Obama presidency to the Ambassadors Magazine.