The Honorable Barack H. Obama
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington D.C., DC 20500-0004
Dear Mr. President:
We the undersigned scholars fully appreciate and applaud your concern about not repeating the rush to unilateralism, which has too frequently defined American foreign policy in the Middle East in recent years. We also remember the strong commitment you made in Cairo on June 4, 2009 to support efforts to promote democracy in your "New Beginnings" speech to the Arab and Muslim worlds. In that speech you stated:
"I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed, confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice, government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people, the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas. They are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere."
These comments were widely hailed throughout the region and received as a strong signal that your administration would robustly support the rise of popular democracy wherever it occurred.
Over the past two months the Arab world has been shaken to its core by a profound and widespread popular call for democracy. This call has transcended all social classes, ethnic groups and religious confessions. The historic extent and nature of this appeal is of monumental historical significance. Oppressive and corrupt regimes in both Tunisia and Egypt have already been swept from power, and are actively challenged now also in Yemen and Libya.
Although non-violent popular moments were able to topple the regimes of Tunisia and Egypt, the case of Libya has been different. The protests, which began there on February 17th, started peacefully, as they did throughout the region. However, the regime of Colonel Gaddafi quickly responded by resorting to the use of military forces against unarmed civilians. The regime's orders to its armed forces to use planes, helicopter gunships, heavy caliber machine guns and similar weaponry against unarmed protestors quickly prompted mass defections from the Libyan armed forces to the side of the protestors. The regime's subsequent use of mercenary forces against the civilian population has only escalated the level of violence.
In response to calls for an American-led no-fly zone over northern Libya you have argued for the need for regional and international sanction for such a measure. We contend that with the recent unanimous vote of the League of Arab States, numerous calls for such action from states within the region, as well as wider calls from traditional American allies such as France and Britain for such action, legitimate sanction for the speedy imposition of a no-fly zone now exists and we call upon you now to assume a leading role in halting the horrific violence being perpetrated by Colonel Gaddafi's forces by swiftly taking the following concrete actions:
(1) Working closely with U.S. allies, NATO, and the United Nations to create a coalition that will impose as quickly as possible a no-fly zone for all Libyan military aircraft over the full extent of northern Libyan airspace, and implement such measures as may be required to render the Libyan air force inoperable throughout the country.
(2) Joining France in recognizing the provisional government of Libya based in Benghazi as the sole legitimate government of Libya.
(3) Entering into immediate dialogue with the provisional government to determine how the U.S. and the international community may provide this legitimate government with both humanitarian and military assistance.
(4) Assist in the jamming of military communications by the Gaddafi forces.
(5) Issue a clear warning to all military officers and mercenaries supporting the Gaddafi regime that they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of international law if they participate in crimes against humanity; and offer protection to any senior officers now loyal to Colonel Gaddafi who choose to defect.
Mr. President, we now stand at a pivotal moment in the struggle for democracy in the Arab world. If the words you spoke in Cairo nearly two years ago are to have any meaning, you must now assume a leading role in supporting the massive popular uprising for democracy throughout the region. The Libyan case is for the moment the most pressing, but people throughout the Arab world will judge your words in Cairo by your actions now. The support you promised for democracy in Cairo must be substantive and swift. To extend such support is not only to stand on the right side of history, we believe that it is also critical to the long-term national interests of this country.
Sincerely,
Larry Diamond
Director, Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, Stanford University
John L. Esposito
Director, Al-WaleedCenter for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University
Akbar Ahmed
Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University
Francis Fukuyama
Institute for International Studies, Stanford University
Michele Dunne
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Robert R. LaGamma
President, Council for a Community of Democracies
Aly R. Abuzaakouk,
Director, Libya Forum for Human and Political Development
Imbarek El Shamikh
Ex- Prime Minster of Libya
Dr. Esam Omeish
Libyan Emergency Task Force
Radwan A. Masmoudi
President, Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy
Saad Eddin Ibrahim
Founder Director,Ibn Khaldoun Center for Human Rights Studies
Shadi Hamid
Director of Research, Brookings Doha Center
Joseph K. Grieboski
The Institute on Religion and Public Policy
David N Dorn
International Director, American Federation of Teachers
Rev. William Wesley Elkins
Drew University, Adjunct Professor, United Methodist Church
S. Abdallah Schleifer
Professor Emeritus of Journalism and Founder, Adham Center, The American University in Cairo
Sherman L. Jackson
University of Michigan
Hamza Yusuf
Zaytuna College
Vincent J. Cornell
Emory University
Douglas M. Johnston
President, International Center for Religion and Diplomacy
Rabbi Josef Potasnik
Board of Rabbis of New York
Richard J. Cohen
University of Virginia
I. William Zartman
SAIS-Johns Hopkins University
Reuven Kimelman
Brandeis University
Laurence O. Michalak
University of California Berkeley
Rabbi Dr. Marc Gopin
George Mason University
Gabriel Marcella
Retired, US Army War College
Christopher S. Taylor
Director, Drew University Center on Religion, Culture and Conflict
Asma Afsaruddin
Indiana University
Tamara Sonn
College of William & Mary
Antony T. Sullivan
Near East Support Services
Emad Shahin
University of Notre Dame
William L. Sachs
Center for Interfaith Reconciliation
Whitney Bodman
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Senator Mike Gravel
The Democracy Foundation
Stephen McInerney
Project on Middle East Democracy
Nayereh Tohidi
California State University, Northridge
Richard W. Soudriette
Center for Diplomacy and Democracy
Richard C. Rowson
Council for a Community of Democracies
Louay Safi
Georgetown University/CMCU
Najib Ghadbian
University of Arkansas
Patrick M. Cronin
Center for a New American Security
Abbas Milani
Iranian Studies Program, Stanford University
Jean-Louis Juvet
Neuchâtel University (CH)
Catherine Balten
University of Notre Dame
Radwan Ziadeh
George Washington University
Maher Hathout
Muslim Public Affairs Council
Joseph Bock
University of Notre Dame
Fred Dallmayr
University of Notre Dame
Steven B. Bloomfield
Harvard University
Jose Casanova
Georgetown University
Robert Pastor
American University
Mohamed Nimer
American University
Ahmed E. Souaiaia
University of Iowa
Joseph V. Montville
George Mason/American Universities
Sheila Musaji
Editor, The American Muslim
Rafik Beekun
University of Nevada
Abdulaziz Sachedina
University of Virginia
Pamela K Taylor
Muslims for Progressive Values
Chibli Mallat
Harvard Law School and Utah University Quinney College of Law
Khursheed Mallick
East-West University
Ermin Sinanovic
US Naval Academy
Jamil Jreisat
University of South Florida
Nader Hashemi
University of Denver
Alejandro Beutel
Muslim Public Affairs Council
Hamid Abdeljaber
Rutgers University- New Jersey
Siraj Mufti
International Center for Peace, Tucson
Philippa Strum
City University of New York
Nathan Roberts
University of Texas at Austin
Mary Knight
New York University
Bruce Lawrence
Professor, Islamic Studies, Duke University
Sohail Nakhooda
Kalam Research and Media
Robert F. Shedinger
Luther College
International Leaders & Scholars:
Professor Stephen Chan OBE
School of Oriental and African Studies, London
Roberta Bonazzi
European Foundation for Democracy
Farhad Khosrokhavar
Professor at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris
Mohammad Siddik
Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Univ. Azhar Indonesia, Jakarta
Sameer Jarrah
Network of Democrats in the Arab World
Fakhry Abu Shakra
Arab Center for Democracy and Peace Studies
Najah Kadhim
Executive Director-International Forum for Islamic Dialogue
Boudjema Ghechir
Algerian League for Human Rights
Sayyed Nadeem Kazmi
The Britslam Partnership
Abdelkader Amara
Justice and Development Party
Hikmat Bushnaq-Josting
Ibn Rushd Fund
(Affiliations are listed for informational purposes only).
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