Michele Obama's Indonesian Handshake Heard Around the World -- Disrespectful?

News of Michele Osama's handshake is hitting the media today and is being talked about around the world. The Indonesian minister, who was at the receiving end of her extended hand, is calling this incident a "reluctant handshake," according to The Washington Post. This very benign handshake has put a top Indonesian minister in hot water with his country's people!

Obama should have been briefed on the greeting customs in this country, due to the fact that this was one area she was sure to participate in.

Who ever was in charge of briefing the First Family on the customs of Indonesia before this trip really dropped the ball on this one. This is a major oversight on the part of Michele Obama and her staff. As the First Lady, she should have known this. Not knowing looks as if she did not care enough about the visit to at least get to know the basics of the customs of the country.

This may be a backwards custom when it comes to the standards in the US, but it needs to be followed out of respect when visiting a country that holds these customs sacred.

According to the Washington Post, Minister Tifatul Sembiring is a conservative Muslim who has "flaunted the fact that he avoids all contact with women who are not his family members."

Obama's handshake put a real damper on this minister's pride at holding true to this practice. After seeing this handshake on national television, Sembiring's countryman took to modern technology to call him out on this handshake. This has put Sembiring in a very awkward position.

Sembiring took to Twitter and fired back, saying that he had no choice: "Michele Obama held her hands too far toward me so we touched," according to the Washington Post.

The minister's recollection of the incident was that "they touched hands" when talking about his handshake with Michele Obama The video of the incident tells a different story; his handshake was so enthusiastic that he took both his hands and shook Obama's hand in a double embrace. He was also grinning from ear to ear at the time.

James Kirk Wall of the Chicago Tribune has a different take on the events of the handshake heard around the world. He believes that it is "Sembiring's male chauvinist interpretation of Islam" and that it should not fall back on Michele Obama's lack of knowledge of this custom.

Wall does make a good point when he says Obama is going through a long receiving line; how is she supposed to know which person's hand to shake or not?

Many would agree it is a male chauvinist behavior, or tradition of not shaking a woman's hand, but it is not about bringing equal rights to this country right now. It is about bringing the world closer together and making friends instead of enemies.

Someone should have briefed the President and the First Lady on this custom and made other arrangements. The Indonesian people who embrace this custom in their culture will most likely just chalk it up to "pushy Americans." It is just about respect for others and their traditions.

Reference: Washington Post, Chicago Tribune