4 jun 2009

Time for another speech writer

From Obama´s speech at Cairo University:

"The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom. Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition...".

My points:

1. Cordoba is a city within a region - Andalusia -. It's like talking about the History of the USA and Washington D.C. We assume that with "Andalusia" he was referring to Al-Andalus (the part of Spain under Muslim dominion) although they aren't the same thing either.

2. Andalusia - and Cordoba - weren´t under Muslim dominion "during" the Inquisition. In fact Cordoba was captured in 1236 by king Fernando III during the Spanish Reconquista, and the Spanish Inquisition started in 1478. Just a difference of a couple of centuries.

3. Let´s say that there are different opinions about that "tradition of tolerance" in Al-Andalus.

4. Al-Andalus is known for being targeted by Muslim radicals and others not so radical. They want it to be Muslim, again.

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