Mark Juergensmeyer

He was a lifelong Democrat, and opposed to the Iraq war, but his theory of the “clash of civilizations” helped to support the neo-con notion of a war on terror.

First of all, the phrase “war on terror” needs to be retired. As a war, it is largely imagined, and as an idea it is ill-conceived. The effect of thinking in terms of global war is to make enemies out of millions of Muslims who would otherwise have been our friends.

An American president addresses a Cairo audience with respect, and with appropriate language. What is truly remarkable is that Obama’s good manners seem remarkable to us.