Egyptian Cleric Hassan Abu Al-Ashbal’s threatening attempt to persuade Barack Obama to convert to Islam is about as effective as our commenter Zin’s efforts to persuade us that Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro are the real democrats.
But I detect a note of hysteria– almost desperation– in Al-Ashbal’s voice. Is it a fear that Obama’s election means that he and his fellow clerics in the Muslim world soon will have a much harder time whipping up and playing on grievance and resentment against the US?
