We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.
The Holy Koran tells us, "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."
The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."
The Holy Bible tells us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth. Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you.
The questions are:
Does this violate your sense of church / state separation?
Or - Is this the way you think an American President should be talking?
To the first question I can answer, with ease, no. The First Amendment religious clauses deal with legal endorsement. Pres. Obama was only invoking certain religious ideals that lie deep within the Abrahamic faiths, offering a rhetorical call to arms against extremists in all three faiths who pose a danger to coexistence, mutual understanding, and peace. He was most definitely not saying that this was going to be codified as American law. If he had, there would most definitely be a problem - and I would be the first to shout loudest.
To the second, I can't see anything wrong with a President of the United States, speaking before an audience in a nation-state that, while officially secular, is majority Muslim, and invoked the Scriptures of all three Abrahamic faiths in a rhetorical plea for understanding. By appealing to the best angels of our beliefs, and without any denunciation of "terror", he offered to the Islamic people a view of an American President who not only understands what is best about our faiths, but that he will pursue these worthy goals as good ends in and for themselves. While it is certainly possible to do so without quoting the Bible or the Holy Q'uran, Obama is wise enough a speaker to understand his audience. That needs to be kept in mind as well.
No problems here.
