Muslims in U.S.: Speech hit 'right notes'

Muslims in U.S.: Speech hit 'right notes'
By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY




President Obama's call for Arabs, Israelis and Americans to abandon their suspicions and work together for a more secure future was welcomed more enthusiastically by Muslims on this side of the world than by Jews who expressed concerns about his support for the Palestinian cause.

"He hit the right notes with the right tone," said Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine. "He gave the big picture in a speech that takes the high moral ground. It takes courage to say the things that are not exactly what your audience wants to hear."

His pointed comments about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict drew the harshest reactions here. Calling the bond between the United States and Israel "unbreakable," Obama called on Israel to recognize the need for a Palestinian state and stop illegal settlements in the West Bank, which Palestinians claim as part of their homeland. He denounced the violence against Israel and called on Palestinians to end attacks.


Ibtisam Ibrahim, a Palestinian who is director of Arab Studies at American University, said Obama may have offended some Arabs by emphasizing the strong relationship between the United States and Israel. "It sounded like he was speaking in an Israeli university," Ibrahim said. "We know about the special relationship, and there's no argument about it. We need to hear more about how we're going to end the conflict."


Some Jews were rankled by the president's comments regarding Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said the speech was troubling because it marked a shift from the Bush administration, which was more concerned with ensuring Israel's security. "The reality is that settlements are not an obstacle to peace," Brooks said. "This administration is changing the focus of peace efforts. … You have to stop the barrage of missiles and rockets coming into Israel."

Mordechai Yitzhaky, owner of Katz Kosher Super Market in Rockville, Md., called the president's speech a disaster for the Jewish community. "He never mentioned the Israelis' burden over the last 50 years," Yitzhaky said. "He only talked about what the Israelis are supposed to do to make the Palestinians' lives easier. … A lot of Jewish people in the U.S. voted for him. I think a lot of them will be very disappointed."

Rabbi Michael Beals of the Congregation of Beth Shalom in Wilmington, Del., said Obama wrongly made it appear as if Israel and the United States disagreed over settlements. "He made an issue out of something that's not an issue," Beals said. "It was, 'Look, we're getting tough on Israel.' "

Others who advocate a separate nation for Palestinians praised Obama's approach. "You have to end the blame game," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, executive director of J Street, a pro-Israel lobby that supports a two-state solution. "That kind of finger-pointing and blame game will not allow you to move forward."

Muslims across the country said the speech was a strong overture to the Arab world by a president who has credibility because of his personal experiences with Islam. Obama noted that his middle name is Hussein, his father was Muslim and he lived for several years in Indonesia, which has a predominantly Muslim population.

"He looks like a lot of people in the Middle East. His middle name is like many people in the Middle East," said Yahya Mossa Basha of Detroit, which has one of the largest populations of Arabs in the USA. "No one doubts his intentions."

Other Arabs said the speech laid the groundwork for the United States to establish a better relationship with Muslims here and abroad. "We are a growing minority, and we are misunderstood and misrepresented," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "The president is helping to undo and break down stereotypes of Muslims and also break down stereotypes of Americans."

Contributing: Tina Irgang; Maureen Milford, The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal

Source :http://www.usatoday.com

Obama's Speech "Remarkable"

Bob Schieffer: Obama's Speech "Remarkable"
Posted by Michelle Levi



CBS News' Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer said the most significant part of President Obama's speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, Egypt today, was that he made it.

"This was a remarkable speech," Schieffer told host Maggie Rodriguez on The Early Show this morning,"[t]he most remarkable thing to me was just simply that he made it. That he would go to Cairo and that he would speak with the candor he did."

"It's also going to be controversial," Schieffer predicted, noting the president's call for "these [Israeli] settlements to stop" and that he thinks the lesson learned in Iraq was sometimes diplomacy trumps force.

Schieffer said that "the fact that he was there, that Muslims got a chance to see him, to hear him... This will have a great impact…I think that was aimed at the next generation."

"This was professor Obama," Schieffer said alluding to the president's former career as a law professor at the University of Chicago.

The history buff host of "Face the Nation" and "Washington Unplugged," admitted that even he learned a few things from the historical speech.

"One thing I didn't know," Schieffer said, "he pointed out that Morocco, a Muslim country, was the first to recognize the United States. He also pointed out there is a mosque in every state in the United States of America."


Source :http://www.cbsnews.com

Obama Offers New Partnership Between the U.S. and Muslim World

Obama Offers New Partnership Between the U.S. and Muslim World
By Tony Karon



Grounding himself in verses from the Koran, President Barack Obama on Thursday promised the Muslim world a new partnership with the U.S. based on mutual interest, mutual respect — and a promise to "say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors." And he delivered by the bucket, in a speech that first wooed his audience with lavish praise of Islam's contribution to global civilization, and then delivered some bracing messages on key points of conflict between the U.S. and its Muslim critics.

• On Afghanistan, Obama emphasized that the Sept. 11 attacks had left the U.S. with no choice but to deny al-Qaeda a sanctuary there — squarely challenging the conspiracy theories that still prevail in Egypt and much of the Muslim world that question whether the attacks had in fact been carried out by extremists, who claimed responsibility for the event. "These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with," he said bluntly. The U.S. would bring its troops home immediately if it could be sure extremists would have no sanctuary in Afghanistan.

Iraq was different, a war of choice that Obama himself had opposed. But he emphasized his responsibility to help Iraqis achieve a better future while stressing that his goal was to leave Iraq to the Iraqis — and he broke with President George W. Bush by saying bluntly that the U.S. had no interest in establishing permanent bases there. He also stressed that all U.S. troops would leave Iraq by 2012, in line with an agreement with the Iraqi government.

On torture and the abuse of detainees at Guantánamo and elsewhere, Obama carefully distanced himself from some of the Muslim world's most toxic grievances against the U.S. war on terrorism. The fear generated by Sept. 11 had prompted some Americans to act in ways that contradicted their country's values and traditions, he said — a line likely to infuriate former Vice President Dick Cheney — but he stressed that he has already outlawed torture and vowed to close Guantánamo by next year, drawing raucous applause.

• The Israeli-Palestinian conflict marks perhaps the most enduring area of division between the U.S. and Muslim countries. On this subject, Obama's speech was an elegant walk on a balance beam: he unapologetically stressed that the bond between the U.S. and Israel was unbreakable, emphasizing that it was based on "the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied." He cited the centuries of Jewish persecution in Europe that culminated in the Holocaust, which killed more Jews than Israel's current Jewish population. "Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction — or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews — is deeply wrong and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve."

But he was just as forceful in describing the trauma of the Palestinians that began with their displacement by Israel's creation in 1948, which turned many into refugees and later included suffering the humiliations of occupation. Obama's description of a stalemate involving "two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive" offered both sides a narrative in which they could recognize their own interests. "If we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security."

Obama bluntly rebuked Hamas for terrorism, offering the example of the U.S. civil rights struggle as an alternative. He also scolded Israel for its occupation of the West Bank, saying the U.S. did not accept "the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity." He stressed both the Palestinian Authority's responsibility for improving Palestinian governance and Israel's obligation to ease the siege of Gaza and its security regime in the West Bank — though both sides would see the speech as short on specifics. Still, the audience warmed to a U.S. President using more forceful language on Israel than either of his two predecessors.

Source :http://www.time.com

Obama looks to reach the soul of the Muslim world

Obama looks to reach the soul of the Muslim world



By Ed Hornick
CNN

(CNN) -- Winning the hearts and minds of a majority of people is a nearly impossible feat, especially when you're a politician.

And it's even harder when religion is involved, namely Islam, which some estimates put at 1 billion followers.

But President Obama looks to do just that Thursday as he delivers what the White House is billing as a major speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, Egypt.

Obama hopes to start "a new chapter of engagement" between the United States and the Muslim world, speechwriter Ben Rhodes said Wednesday.


This engagement would be based on mutual respect and mutual interest, and Obama plans to speak "openly and candidly" about issues that have caused "tensions in the Muslim world," Rhodes said. "This can't be just [about] what we're against, but what we're for."

Obama asked staff members to "cast a wide net" to gather a range of viewpoints, including those of Muslim-Americans, as he was preparing his Cairo comments, Rhodes disclosed.

But just as the White House lays out its vision, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden purportedly issued another statement Wednesday, saying U.S. policy in Pakistan has generated "new seeds of hatred and revenge against America."

Al-Jazeera, an Arabic-language TV network, aired segments of what it said was a "voice recording by bin Laden," which was believed to have been recorded several weeks ago, during a mass civilian exodus because of fighting in northwestern Pakistan.

Pakistani troops have been taking on militants in the area, known as the Swat Valley.

Bin Laden's message also likened Obama's actions to those of past administrations.

Obama is proving that he is "walking the same road of his predecessors to build enmity against Muslims and increasing the number of fighters and establishing more lasting wars," bin Laden says on the tape.

"This basically means that Obama and his administration put new seeds of hatred and revenge against America. The number of these seeds is the same as the number of those victims and refugees in Swat and the tribal area in northern and southern Waziristan."

The White House hit back on the bin Laden tape late Wednesday.


"I don't think it's surprising that al Qaeda would want to shift attention away from the president's historic efforts, and continued efforts, to reach out and have an open dialogue with the Muslim world," Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

It was a message reinforced by officials throughout the administration.

"I think the timing is pretty self-evident, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist on this one," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.

CNN Security Analyst Peter Bergen says the tape "speaks for itself."

"I think what's interesting about the tape is that it appears to be made several weeks ago. ... The bin Laden tape was not made to kind of upstage the Cairo speech. ... Some in Al-Jazeera may well have kept it back ... for a more newsworthy moment ... right now as the president is in the Middle East," he said.

Bin Laden's comments come as al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri said Obama will not be welcomed in Egypt but rather "welcomed by his slaves who benefit from his aids and bribes."

Bergen says the two men are still "pretty relevant" in the Muslim world, adding that they "do continue to provide strategic guidance to jihadis around the world."

But Democratic Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana, a Muslim, says the latest message shows that al Qaeda is threatened by Obama's appeal to Muslims as having relatives of the Islamic faith and having lived in a Muslim country.

"President Obama's reaching the hearts and minds of the Muslim community both here in the United States and internationally. ... These extremists ... want to pump fear in the hearts and minds, but it's not working," he said.

"I think we have to be mindful and careful about these self-appointed gatekeepers of the religion of Islam. The religion of Islam is a peaceful religion. We certainly have great contributions from Muslims in America and Muslims abroad who want to see the world better."

It's a point agreed with by CNN's senior editor of Middle East affairs, Octavia Nasr.

"One thing is certain: Bin Laden's rhetoric doesn't seem to mirror a mostly hopeful acceptance of President Obama among Muslims and Arabs," Nasr said Wednesday.

Carson, a former Homeland Security official, has advised Obama on Muslim affairs. He says the president needs to strike the right balance of appealing to Muslims while not weakening the United States' relationship with Israel.

Bergen agrees, saying senior Saudi officials have told him that they want some statement on Israel that is "more than just platitudes."

"The president and his team, of course, understand that. And we've seen the ground being prepared over the last week or so with statements on the settlements [in Gaza]."

In advance of his trip, the president has been getting tough on Israel, pushing a two-state solution in meetings with a resistant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Before embarking on his trip, Obama dropped in unexpectedly on a meeting Tuesday in Washington between Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and National Security Adviser Gen. Jim Jones, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

Obama, the newspaper reports, intends to give Netanyahu four to six weeks to update his position regarding construction in the settlements and Palestinian sovereignty as part of the so-called two-state solution.

Netanyahu, speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday, said that a freeze of settlement activity is not reasonable.

But it's not just the settlement issue Obama has to address; it's also tamping down criticism of picking Cairo to deliver the speech.

CNN's Ben Wedeman, who talked to Egyptians in Cairo, said most of the people were eagerly awaiting the president's visit but said some were concerned that Obama, by making Egypt the focus of his trip, could legitimize Mubarak's 28-year rule.

These Egyptians said they feared that Obama might not discuss with Mubarak longstanding problems such as the need for democracy and political reform


"What they want is results, not just words," Wedeman said.

But Nasr argues that Egypt is significant because it is a "major player" in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which is "at the heart of every Muslim confrontation with the west."

"It is also home to Al-Azhar Mosque, the authority on Islam for the whole world. It is also the birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood. In the past decades, Egypt has also landed a voice to an array of groups from ultra-conservative Muslim movements to most liberal social issues such as gay rights."

Back home, potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney says Obama needs to stop using foreign soil to apologize for U.S. relations.

"[There's] no harm in speaking with other people. But if you look at his last trip to Europe and also the comments he made on Arabic TV as he became president, I think you can be troubled as I have been," he said Tuesday.


Carson, however, says Obama has to address the "arrogance" of the eight years under the Bush administration.

"We've seen eight years of disrespect. We've seen eight years of arrogance. And we've seen eight years of our wonderful, great nation shoving our opinions down the throats of other nations," he said. "President Obama is the man to help move us forward and heal some of these wounds."

Source :http://edition.cnn.com

Obama delivers strong attack on Israeli settlements in speech to Muslim world

Obama delivers strong attack on Israeli settlements in speech to Muslim world


From The Times
June 5, 2009

James Hider in Cairo

Before a crowd of robed Muslim clerics, dissidents who have served time in jail, students from across the region and besuited government officials from authoritarian regimes, President Obama made an historic speech yesterday to try to mend America’s battered ties with the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims.

From such a diverse audience he received as many cheers for espousing women’s rights as he did for quoting the Koran or championing the principle of a free Palestinian state.

Mr Obama made obvious attempts to win Muslim hearts and minds — reminding them that Thomas Jefferson taught himself Arabic, and praising the Islamic world as a beacon of learning during Europe’s Dark Ages — but refused to shy away from the difficult issues of religious extremism, human rights abuses and nuclear proliferation that plague the region.

“We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world — tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate,” he said, in the grand auditorium of Cairo University, where 2,000 carefully selected guests had gathered. Outside, Cairo’s usually chaotic streets fell quiet under a tight police cordon.

In a frank 50-minute speech — at one point interrupted by a shout of “We love you” — Mr Obama admitted to America’s mistakes, all but conceding that the Iraq war had been an error. He called on Israel to end all settlement activities in the West Bank and made a direct appeal to Hamas, the Palestinian militants who rule Gaza, to end violence and shoulder the responsibility placed on them by their 2006 election victory. He also delved into the complex entanglements between East and West, citing the latter’s Cold War use of Muslim countries as mere “proxies” and the Islamic world’s suspicions of globalism and the changes that it had wrought on traditional societies.

With a tone that owed almost as much to therapy as diplomacy, Mr Obama invited traumatised nations beset by war, repression and suspicion of the outside world to look at themselves honestly and face up to hard truths. Those included the Muslim world’s need to acknowledge the suffering of the Jews in the Holocaust and its effect on Israel’s mentality, as well as the “daily humiliations” of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation.

He also acknowledged his country’s mistakes. “Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world,” he said. “Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible.”

He also made digs at the Arab world’s authoritarian regimes, including that of his host, President Mubarak, long propped up by America. He invited his allies to reform and embrace “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”.

And while reaffirming America’s commitment to Israel, he made perhaps the toughest condemnation yet by a US president of the Jewish settlements spreading in the West Bank. “The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace,” he said. “It is time for these settlements to stop.”

Mr Obama received a standing ovation and most members of the audience left buoyed by a sense that real change was coming. “His criticism of authoritarian regimes really touched my heart,” said Nada Maher, a young Egyptian student. “This means that he’s taking it seriously.”

Professor Mohammed Abdelhadi Imam, of the Islamic al-Azhar University, said: “The most important thing was his call for peace. I feel happy and hopeful for the world after hearing this speech. He was talking from heart to heart.”

There was criticism, however, mostly from the young bloggers who have taken on Egypt’s heavy-handed regime and often been jailed. “He was addressing the religious emotions of the people, not their minds,” said Wael Abbas, a prominent blogger.

Such criticism was dismissed by Abdullah Schleiffer, an American-born Jew who converted to Islam and is now a prominent scholar and broadcaster in the region.

“It is easy to say it’s words but words have a reality. The Declaration of Independence was only words but they changed the world,” he said, noting the radical shift in Mr Obama’s direct address to Hamas, shunned by the international community as terrorists. “Today begins Day 1 of dialogue with Hamas,” he said.

Israel welcomed Mr Obama’s promise of a “new beginning” with the Muslim world but said that safeguarding its citizens remained its priority.

Source :http://www.timesonline.co.uk

Muslims not sure speech means real change

Muslims not sure speech means real change



Obama's speech in Cairo is eloquent, the rhetoric soaring, but many in the audience are left wondering whether the charismatic president can follow it with new policies and actions.
By Jeffrey Fleishman
2:34 PM PDT, June 4, 2009

Reporting from Cairo -- He came with goodwill and pretty sentences, but the question kept echoing: Were they enough?

President Obama's long anticipated speech Thursday to the Muslim world sought to dissolve the mistrust between Islam and the West by highlighting his personal appeal as he called for an end to intolerance and violence and a move toward a shared future. It was a carefully textured blend of history, the president's experience with Islam and the need to quell religious extremism.


The 55-minute address at Cairo University was short on policy details. What it lacked in PowerPoint specificity, the speech made up for by linking Obama's story -- the Christian son of an African Muslim father -- with his administration's goals of ending the Arab-Israeli crisis, sitting with Iran at the negotiating table and calling on Muslims to reject the fanatical voices of Osama bin Laden and others.

Few world leaders today can match Obama's eloquence and charisma, and it was clear that the president wanted the world's 1.5 billion Muslims to see America through the prism of his enormously popular image. The words were a start, but the question here remains: Is Obama the face of genuine change in U.S. foreign policy or will he merely offer a sparkle of promise before he is overwhelmed by troubles from the bombed alleys of the Gaza Strip to the mountains of Afghanistan?

The address did not answer that; it didn't provide enough concrete solutions to wipe away doubt. It did suggest, however, that the president is a conciliator, not a warrior, and that America, especially in Iraq, had made mistakes. Saving face is a cherished Arab virtue, and a man who can keep face while listing his mistakes is respected.


Obama, with an eye to how his remarks would play among conservatives in Washington, emphasized that the U.S. would "relentlessly confront" extremists and urged Muslims to tame its violent minority and set aside the "crude stereotype" of America.

The president was attempting to insinuate himself into the larger debate within Islam -- not among militants, who won't be swayed by an appeal from an American president, but between mainstream conservative and moderate Muslim voices looking to keep their faith but also engage the secular West.

"No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point," said Obama. "There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another and to seek common ground."

That was the message. It began with Obama greeting the crowd with assalamu alaikum, or "peace be upon you," and was bolstered by weaving in quotes from the Koran. And the speech was delivered the way you introduce yourself here to neighbors as a newcomer to town: explaining where you're from, your passions, your dreams, but not delving too deeply into prickly things. That unveiling comes later, during ensuing weeks, months and years.

But many in this region want deeds and progress much sooner, and believe that the speech was more of a balancing act than an aggressive agenda. "He's speaking in the right direction, but we need to see what follows," Ibrahim Hudaiby, a blogger and member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. "It's time for action. . . . The devil is in the details."

Obama spoke fervently about the creation of a Palestinian state, while also stressing that the U.S.-Israeli bond was unbreakable. This was the topic many Arab Muslims had waited for, and Obama, as in much of the speech, turned to history: how it resonated, but how the world must not be bound by it.

He said denying the existence of the Holocaust, as some of Israel's enemies have done, is "baseless, it is ignorant and it is hateful." But he quickly noted that "it is also undeniable" that the Palestinians have suffered pain and indignities in their quest for a homeland. He again firmly called for a halt to the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but he said Palestinians should follow the course of nonviolent protest, such as practiced by blacks in the United States and South Africa.

His remarks on expanding democracy drew applause from the audience, but they were couched in too much diplomacy for Egyptian activists and dissidents whose voices have been squelched for nearly 28 years by Obama's host, President Hosni Mubarak. Some of them had criticized Obama's visit here as an endorsement of an autocratic regime that has imprisoned thousands of opponents.

Obama did not mention any country or Arab leader by name when he declared that government must be run with "a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make a true democracy."

The tenor of his address was not to point blame -- except at extremists -- but to end past animosities between Islam and the West and to start anew. It highlighted his gifts as an orator, but left open the question of how successful a statesmen he may become.

"We have the power to make the world we seek," he said, "but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written."

He then quoted from the Koran, the Talmud and the Bible.

But Obama will need to recite more than holy text to convince his audience that his words will be followed by change.

jeffrey.fleishman@latimes.com

Source :http://www.latimes.com

Obama’s Speech Welcomed by Arabs Who Want Now to See Action

Obama’s Speech Welcomed by Arabs Who Want Now to See Action





By Daniel Williams and Julianna Goldman

June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Arabs welcomed President Barack Obama’s call for a “new beginning” in relations with the Muslim world and called on the U.S. to match words with actions, while in Israel analysts said the speech would intensify pressure on their government to halt West Bank settlements.

In an address at the golden-domed Grand Hall of Cairo University yesterday, Obama said both societies must end the “cycle of suspicion and discord” that has defined the relationship. While saying the U.S. bond with Israel is “unbreakable,” he said the Israelis must halt expansion of settlements and recognize Palestinian aspirations for statehood.

“The symbolism was strong, the substance was thin,” said Rami Khoury, director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut. “Equating the Palestinians and the Israelis at the same level was very significant.”

The speech, with an audience of about 3,000 in the hall and millions more worldwide, was part of an effort by Obama to enhance U.S. standing with the Islamic world as he realigns U.S. policy in the battle against terrorism, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the confrontation with Iran over its nuclear development plans.

The president laced his 55-minute address with references to the Koran as well as the Bible and the Talmud. He talked about Islamic contributions to culture, U.S. history and his personal story.

‘Always the Truth’

Citing a verse in the Koran that tells Muslims to “speak always the truth,” Obama said that that to move forward, “we must say openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors.”

He outlined six friction points between the U.S. and Muslims: violent extremism “in all its forms”; Iran’s pursuit of nuclear arms; democracy in Muslim nations; religious freedom and the rights of women. Obama used some of his most direct language regarding the sixth flash-point, the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and Muslim enmity toward the Jews.

He said Jews have been subject to centuries of persecution and statements that deny the fact of the deaths of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis are “ignorant” and “hateful.”

“Threatening Israel with destruction -- or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews -- is deeply wrong and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve,” he said.

Israeli Settlements

At the same time, he said, “Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.”

The Palestinian situation in the West Bank and Gaza is “intolerable,” he said. “The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.”

“It’s good to hear that kind of message that America is not going to turn its back on the Palestinians,” said Abdulkhaleq Abdullah, a professor of politics at United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain, U.A.E.

Adouri Mgrditchian, a 24-year-old student at American University of Beirut, said Obama’s trip is “a step in the right direction.”

“But will we see concrete steps?” he asked.

In the Gaza Strip, Sameh Abdallah, a Palestinian public employee agreed: “We heard very positive comments from him, but the judgment is subject to seeing actions on the ground.”

Pressure on Netanyahu

In Israel, Gerald Steinberg, a political science professor at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, said, “The timing and venue of this historic speech definitely ratchets up the pressure” on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has rejected freezing expansion of settlements.

Netanyahu’s office released a statement calling Obama’s speech “dramatic” and expressed hope that it “would lead to a new era of reconciliation between the Arab and Muslim world with Israel.” The statement didn’t mention settlements.

Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser, Zalman Shoval, said: “I don’t think anything has improved because of the speech, but it hasn’t deteriorated either.”

‘Political Capital’

Mark Heller, political scientist at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies, said that Obama’s use of the word “Palestine” -- unusual for American presidents -- “may buy Obama a little bit of political capital in dealing with the Arab League and the Palestinians themselves.”

“When they get into tough issues, he’s going to be able to say, ‘you can’t accuse me of being fundamentally hostile,’” Heller said.

The president said that two of America’s founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, appreciated Islamic culture and society and that 7 million Muslims now live in U.S. He also reminded the audience that his father was from a Muslim family and he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia.

“That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn’t,” Obama said.

The crowd inside Cairo University’s main assembly hall interrupted with applause 36 times, including at each mention of the Koran. The most sustained applause occurred when he repeated his pledge to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay next year and his support for a Palestinian state.

The audience was silent when he defended the war in Afghanistan as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington. There also was no applause when he said that everyone would be safer if extremists in Muslim communities were isolated and made unwelcome.

Germany Arrival

Obama, who toured the Great Pyramids after his speech, left Cairo and arrived last night in Germany. Today he’ll meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, tour the site of the Buchenwald concentration camp and meet with wounded U.S. military personnel at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

Tonight he flies to Paris before tomorrow’s ceremonies commemorating the allied D-Day invasion at Normandy, which led to the end of World War II.

To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Williams in Cairo at dwilliams41@bloomberg.net; Julianna Goldman in Cairo at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net;

Source :http://www.bloomberg.com

Many Muslims Praise Tone of Speech, but Call for Action

Many Muslims Praise Tone of Speech, but Call for Action

By MARGARET COKER

Muslims in the Middle East and beyond praised U.S. President Barack Obama for the tone of his speech Thursday, but they had more of a mixed reaction to the substance of the address.

Mr. Obama won over many Muslims for delivering what many viewed as a respectful address -- peppered with the moral message Muslims receive at weekly homilies and the straightforward talk they rarely get from their own leadership.

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President Obama delivers his speech aimed at the world's Muslims on Thursday at Cairo University.
Reuters

President Obama delivers his speech aimed at the world's Muslims on Thursday at Cairo University.
President Obama delivers his speech aimed at the world's Muslims on Thursday at Cairo University.
President Obama delivers his speech aimed at the world's Muslims on Thursday at Cairo University.

"The Holy Quran tells us, 'Be conscious of God and speak always the truth,' " said Mr. Obama, quoting the Muslim holy book in his hour-long speech at Cairo University. "That is what I will try to do."

Ahmed Farouk, a 25-year-old movie producer, listened in an Egyptian coffee house near the university. He pumped his fists when Mr. Obama quoted the Quran and smiled when the president talked of the need to cooperate in the battle against extremists, the quest for democracy and women's rights, and the need for respect and understanding between Americans and Muslims. "He seems like a committed and serious man," said Mr. Farouk. "Just one of him is worth 10 George Bushes."

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the speech reflected greater understanding of Mideast culture and "reduces the chance of growth of extremist ideas that are trying to tarnish the image of Islam in the world."

Ahmed Dagher, an Iraqi civil servant, said he connected with Mr. Obama on a personal level when the U.S. leader talked about his Muslim relatives in Kenya and his childhood in Indonesia.

Despite some skepticism about what policy would follow the speech, Mr. Dagher said Mr. Obama's tie to the region boosted his trust in this U.S. leader's sincerity more than he had in former President George W. Bush, who for seven years has ranked as the least-popular world leader, according to a University of Maryland poll of the Arab world.

Mr. Obama's speech drew a cautiously positive response from many Muslims in various corners of the globe. Most interviewed said they were waiting for action to follow the promises of increased U.S. humanitarian aid and cultural exchanges. When focused on the details of the speech, many saw disappointing holes and fewer specifics than they would have liked, especially when it came to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In Kenya, Muslims were encouraged by Mr. Obama's outreach, especially his emphasis on living in peace. On a hot, busy Thursday afternoon in Nairobi, they caught bits of the address before or after midday prayers, in their offices and on screens in quiet cafés downtown.

Sadiki Hamisi Halfani, a 42-year-old Islamic-studies teacher, said he admired Mr. Obama's message of tolerance. "He was brave to talk about the things he did," Mr. Halfani said, standing outside the Jamia Mosque. Mr. Halfani was particularly struck by Mr. Obama's reference to Jerusalem as a town of the children of Abraham: "He said that Muslims, Christians and Jews were supposed to live together. And Muslims are supposed to live like brothers with other people." But he was disappointed that Mr. Obama didn't include leaders of African nations in his address.

"He could have talked about Africa, and insisted Africans maintain peace, just like he did with Iran," Mr. Halfani said.

Al-Amin Kimathi, leader of the Muslim Human Rights Forum in Kenya, also wanted Mr. Obama to go further in addressing dictatorial governments. "He really toned down on addressing the autocratic behavior of Muslim regimes," Mr. Kimathi said. "But from the venue he chose, we didn't expect much."

Likewise in India, Zafarul-Islam Khan, president of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, the umbrella of Indian Muslim groups, said he was waiting for actions, not words, as evidence that Mr. Obama represented a tangible change from President Bush.

"He was rather mild on Israel and did not tell us what he proposes to do if Israel rejects peace with its neighbors and continues to subjugate Palestinians and occupy their land," said Mr. Khan.

In Iran, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alluded to the address hours ahead of the talk. "Change and a new image won't happen with speeches, talks and slogans," he said. "America needs to take action and make up for its injustice toward countries in the region."

Write to Margaret Coker at margaret.coker@wsj.com

Source :http://online.wsj.com

Obama's Islamic homage wins praise

Obama's Islamic homage wins praise



By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press Writer

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The tone of respect was set from the opening lines of President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim world.

"Assalamu Aleikum" — Arabic for "peace be upon you" — he said, triggering applause from the crowd at Cairo University and bringing nods of approval in places like a coffee shop in the West Bank town of Ramallah, where some began calling him "Abu Hussein" — using his Muslim middle name — as a sign of honor.

Obama's ambitious speech — which sought to define a new relationship between Washington and the Islamic world — also represented an opportunity to shape his own image in the eyes of Muslims. He quoted from the Quran, paid homage to the cultural and intellectual achievements of Muslims and noted his middle name and his father's ties to the faith.

"As the Holy Quran tells us, `Be conscious of God and speak always the truth,'" Obama said. "That is what I will try to do today, to speak the truth as best I can."

Whether political stagecraft or sincerity, his gestures resonated strongly among many Muslims who often complain their traditions and culture are devalued in the West and have become overshadowed by Islamic radicals.

"He came across as sincere and credible," said Sheik Muhammad al-Nujaimi, a member of committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that tries to moderate the radical views of jailed militants. He said he plans to give a copy of Obama's address to the inmates with a message: "Muslims should offer help to the new American administration and reciprocate its overtures."

Obama also sprinkled his address with Arabic words that are well-known to all Muslims: "hijab" for the Islamic coverings for women, "zakat" for alms giving, which is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

Even these few references carry powerful significance in the Arab world, where the language is cherished as an important ethnic bond, revered for its connection to the Prophet Muhammad, and filled with elaborate greetings and finely crafted formalities that display respect.

Obama's closing line — "And may God's peace be upon you" — rings with authenticity and cultural sensitivity to Arabic ears.

It's not clear whether Obama's address will have a lasting glow. A Jordanian jeweler, Ibrahim Hreish, described its effect as a "drug" that will eventually wear off.

But there were obvious comparisons to Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, whose use of language — such as calling for a "crusade" against terrorists after the Sept. 11 attacks, a term that brought to mind the Christian Crusades against Islam in the Holy Land — helped stir anti-American anger in the Muslim world.

Obama "was fair on basics, soft on tone," said Labib Kamhawi, a political analyst in Amman, Jordan. "He avoided using provocative terms of the previous administration like `war on terrorism.'"

Obama said he was "proud to carry with me the good will of the American people and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country."

Even some extremist Web sites, which have carried statements from al-Qaida and other groups in the past, added some rare hints of praise amid the scorn for Obama.

One posting on a chat room noted admiration for U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "wearing a head scarf ... and she and Obama taking off their shoes" during a visit to a Cairo mosque. The contributor also praised Obama's quotation of verses from the Quran, "while many of our leaders don't memorize these verses."

In response, another writer said Obama "is manipulating the emotions of the people the same as a lute player does. ... He is undoubtedly a wise enemy compared with George Bush, the enemy known for his stupidity."

In his speech, Obama cited an account from the Quran in pleading for peace in Jerusalem among "all the children of Abraham" — Muslims, Christians and Jews. The president referred to a miracle called al-Isra, or the Night Journey, in which an angel took Muhammad to the heavens, where Muhammad prayed with Moses and Jesus.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a 27-year-old computer engineer, Yasmine Bennami, said of the president's address: "It's the first time ever that I see an American president quoting verses from the Quran."

In Saudi Arabia — home of Islam's holiest sites — Rabah al-Mutawa said Obama, by quoting from the Quran, "touched people." "I challenge any Arab leader to go to the U.S. or the West and quote the Bible like Obama quoted the Quran," she said at her home in Riyadh.

Muhsin Karim, 45, an engineer at Iraq's Ministry of Electricity, said the speech was carefully crafted to reach Muslims: "As if he was trying to tell us, `Trust me, I'm like a cousin for you.'"

When Obama opened with his Arabic greeting, Mahmoud Ramahi smiled.

"This is good," said Ramahi, a lawmaker with the anti-Israel militant group Hamas in the West Bank. "This is the first good signal. We'll start counting."

___

Associated Press writers contributing to this report: Ahmed al-Haj in San'a, Yemen; Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank; Dale Gavlak and Shafika Mattar in Amman, Jordan; Donna Abu Nasr in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Mammoun Youssef in Cairo; Sean Yoong in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and AP staff in Baghdad.


Source :http://news.yahoo.com

Obama Calls for ‘New Beginning’ Between U.S., Muslims

Obama Calls for ‘New Beginning’ Between U.S., Muslims


Edwin Chen and Julianna Goldman




June 4 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama pledged to “seek a new beginning” for the U.S. and the Muslim world, calling on people in both societies to find common ground and end a “cycle of suspicion and discord.”

In a speech at Cairo University today, Obama touched on tension points from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to religious freedom to women’s rights, democracy and the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. Some of his most direct language was used to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

While he called the U.S. bond with Israel “unbreakable” and insisted that Hamas must stop all violence against Israelis, Obama said Israel must stop expanding its West bank settlements and recognize Palestinian aspirations for statehood.

“Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s,” Obama said. He called the Palestinian situation in the West Bank and Gaza “intolerable” and said, “The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.”

The 55-minute address was part of an effort by Obama to lift U.S. standing with Muslims at a moment when the administration is working to reignite the Middle East peace process, waging war against Islamic insurgents in two countries, and battling to choke off support for al-Qaeda and other terrorists.

History With Islam

The president was interrupted more than two dozen times by applause and he cited the Koran as well as the Bible and the Talmud. Obama also reminded the audience that his father was from a Muslim family and he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia.

“That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn’t,” Obama said. “And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.”

Nathan Brown, professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University in Washington, said Obama “managed to thread the needle” with the speech by addressing a broad audience on tough issues “without sounding like he’s lecturing or hectoring.”

Obama’s language on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was “blunt but it was gentle on both sides,” Brown said.

Political Capital

Mark Heller, political scientist at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies, said Obama’s repeated use of the term Palestine is significant in that “it may buy Obama a little bit of political capital” with the Arab world.

“When they get into tough issues, he’s going to be able to say, ‘You can’t accuse me of being fundamentally hostile’ because he’s promoted Palestinian statehood and used their favored term to do it,” Heller said.

Some Arab analysts and members of the audience at Cairo University said the president’s rhetoric, while positive, must be followed up with actions.

“The symbolism was strong, the substance was thin,” said Rami Khoury, director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut.

“There was nothing new, but it’s enough that he showed respect to Muslims,” said Mai Masri, 21, a psychology student at the American University in Cairo, who attended the speech.

Areas of Tension

In addition to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Obama outlined five other friction points between the U.S. and Muslims: violent extremism “in all its forms”; stopping nuclear weapons development in Iran; the spread of democracy; religious freedom and the rights of women.

Citing a verse in the Koran that tells Muslims to “speak always the truth,” Obama said that that in order to move forward, “we must say openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors.”

Discussing violent extremism, Obama said that he will “relentlessly” fight terrorists and protect the American people. He reiterated his commitment to withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq by 2012 and defended the U.S. war in Afghanistan as a “necessity” after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Afghanistan Strategy

Obama explained his strategy for improving Afghanistan’s governance, focusing more aid and attention on neighboring Pakistan. Obama plans to send an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan, where Taliban insurgents are increasing attacks and ramping up pressure on the U.S.-backed government.

“Make no mistake: we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We seek no military bases there,” Obama said. “We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.”

On Iran, Obama reaffirmed longstanding U.S. policy, saying any country, including Iran, “should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

Earlier in the speech he called Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s denial of the Holocaust “baseless, ignorant, and hateful.”

“Threatening Israel with destruction -- or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews -- is deeply wrong and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve,” Obama said.

Democracy

When Obama began discussing democracy, the younger members of the audience clapped and cheered.

“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,” Obama said. “Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.”

Before the speech, Obama met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who critics say has increased suppression of political opposition during almost three decades in power.

To expand the reach of the address, the White House translated it into 13 languages, including Persian, Arabic and Urdu. To reach out to the Muslim world’s younger population, they distributed it through the global social network of Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

Religious Freedom

Talking of religious freedom, Obama called on Muslims to uphold “the richness of religious diversity.”

“Among some Muslims, there is a disturbing tendency to measure one’s own faith by the rejection of another’s,” Obama said. “The divisions between Sunni and Shiite have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.”

On women’s rights, Obama said that “a woman who is denied an education is denied equality.”

Concluding his speech, Obama pledged to work with the Muslim world on economic development, education, science and technology.

“All these things must be done in partnership,” Obama said. “Americans are ready to join with citizens and governments, community organizations, religious leaders, and businesses in Muslim communities around the world to help our people pursue a better life.”

Audience for Speech

The 3,000-person audience represented a cross-section of Muslim cultures from the Middle East and Africa, White House officials said. It included political officials, clerics and regional celebrities ranging from comedians to intellectuals and writers. The U.S. embassy in Cairo played a “leading role” in identifying who received invitations, said Denis McDonough, deputy national security adviser.

Mubarak’s son, Gamal, the Egyptian leader’s likely successor was there, as was Ayman Nour, a prominent Egyptian dissident who ran against Mubarak in 2005 and who was released from prison in February after being jailed on forgery charges.

Security was tight for the event. Attendees went through at least four separate checkpoints. The streets in Cairo were lined with armed policeman, standing a few yards apart from one another.

Obama leaves Cairo tonight for Germany, where tomorrow he’ll meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, tour the site of the Buchenwald concentration camp and meet with wounded U.S. military personnel at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

To contact the reporters on this story: Julianna Goldman in Cairo at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net ; Edwin Chen in Cairo at echen32@bloomberg.net


Source :http://news.yahoo.com

Obama seeks common cause with Muslim world

Obama seeks common cause with Muslim world


By JENNIFER LOVEN, AP White House Correspondent




CAIRO – Invoking the Quran and his rarely used middle name, Barack Hussein Obama declared Thursday that America has a common cause with Islam and never will be at war with the faith — an overture intently watched by the Muslim world and welcomed in unlikely quarters. An Iranian cleric called the president's speech "an initial step for removing misconceptions."

Obama spoke at a seat of Islamic learning, his 55-minute address suffused with respect for touchstones of the religion. He said the time had come to "speak the truth" and "seek a new beginning."

"America and Islam are not exclusive," he said, "and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."

Obama made no specific references to his predecessor in the White House during his Cairo University speech, but others quickly did.

"There is a change between the language of President Obama and previous speeches made by George Bush," said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas. But he added that Obama did not specifically note the suffering in Gaza following the three-week Israeli incursion earlier this year.

"So all we can say is that there is a difference in the statements, and the statements of today did not include a mechanism that can translate his wishes and views into actions," said Barhoum, whose group the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in advance of the speech that any statements by Obama were just "words, speech and slogan" that would leave in place sanctions designed to persuade the nation to stop its nuclear weapons program.

But Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a cleric who was vice president under reformist President Mohammad Khatami, called the speech "compensation" for a hostile environment created by Bush.

"This can be an initial step for removing misconceptions between world of Islam and the West," he said.

Obama's remarks were designed to reset relations after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Yet he also called sternly for Israelis and Palestinians to live up to their obligations in seeking peace, demanded Iran bow to international demands to halt its nuclear weapons program and bid Muslim countries help in eradicating the threat of fundamentalist' violence across the globe.

In doing so, the Christian son of a Kenyan Muslim father and a Kansas mother sought common cause in part by addressing his own roots — and using a middle name that opponents used against him at inflammatory moments in the presidential campaign.

"Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected president," he said. "But my personal story is not so unique." He went on to say the dream of America exists for all who go there — including nearly 7 million Muslims.

The Israeli government issued a statement saying it, too, hoped for a new era. But it skirted any reference to Obama's calls for a settlement freeze in the West Bank and the creation of an independent Palestinian state — demands that Israel's hawkish prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, continues to reject.

Obama addressed the Israeli-Palestinian dispute pointedly in his address, knowing it goes to the heart of Muslim anger toward the West.

"It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true," he said. "Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed."

Obama's boisterous audience included several members of the nonviolent fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful opposition movement. Though banned by President Hosni Mubarak's government, it holds 20 seats in parliament.

Obama seemed upbeat after he spoke, touring the Great Pyramids at Giza. "This is huge!" he yelled at the base of the biggest, his voice echoing off the stone. Around the corner he joked about getting on a camel — and then several of his closest aides promptly did.

The president's brief stay in Cairo also included a visit to the Sultan Hassan mosque, a 600-year-old center of Islamic worship and study.

He flew to Europe later in the day, with stops planned in Germany and France before returning to the United States on Sunday.

Obama's remarks were televised on all radio and television stations in Israel; and with Arabic voice-over translations by Arab satellite stations. The Iranian government jammed signals to block satellite owners from watching.

From its opening phrases, the speech was laden with respectful gestures to Muslims.

Obama said it was part of his responsibilities as president "to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear."

He quoted the Quran: "be conscious of God and always speak the truth" to underscore his call for a new relationship based on mutual interest and respect. He referred to Iran by its full name, the Islamic Republic of Iran, said Islamic countries had been victimized by colonialism as well as the Cold War era struggle between the United States and the former Soviet Union.

"As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk," he said. "As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith."

The battle against terrorists will continue, in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere, Obama said, despite the animosity the operations have helped created toward the U.S. among Muslims. "America's commitment will not weaken."

Yet he remarked, as he did in a speech to another important Muslim audience, in Turkey, that "America is not — and never will be — at war with Islam."

Obama called Iraq, unlike Afghanistan, "a war of choice," and explained his plan to withdraw American combat troops next year and his reversal of Bush-era policies in the pursuit of terrorists that have enraged Muslims the world over. Obama said flatly that he has banned torture and will close the detested Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba next year.

He asked Muslims to join the fight. "The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer," Obama said.

Not all with hostile views of the U.S. were mollified.

"Obama's speech is an attempt to mislead people and create more illusions to improve America's aggressive image in the Arab and Islamic world," said a joint statement by eight Damascus, Syria-based radical Palestinian factions, including Hamas.

Still, many Muslim listeners praised the shift in U.S. attitude.

"It is the first time I have ever heard such affectionate words from an American for Muslims," said Zahid Husain Gardezi, a landowner in the Pakistani city of Multan. "Apparently we can expect America to try to befriend the Muslim world in deeds as well. But let's see how long it will take to see this on the ground."

___

AP writers Marjorie Olster in Cairo; Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Diaa Hadid in Jerusalem; Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza; Irwan Firdaus in Jakarta, Indonesia; Khalid Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan; Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran; and Amy Teibel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.


Source :

Obama seeks Islam 'common ground'

Obama seeks Islam 'common ground'


Mike Allen

CAIRO – In remarks being translated live for broadcasts and Webcasts in every major language, President Barack Obama said Thursday that the United States wants “common ground” and “a new beginning” with the Muslim world, where America’s image plummeted with the Bush administration’s response to the 9/11 attacks.

"Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President. But my personal story is not so unique," he said in the Grand Hall of Cairo University. "The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores.”

The 55-minute speech was remarkable and historic not so much for the delivery or even the words, but for the context, the orator, the moment. Obama included blunt talk about the United States, Israel, Iraq, his predecessor and al Qaeda.

“I am aware that some question or justify the events of 9/11,” he said, speaking before a red curtain and six pairs of U.S. and Egyptian flags. “But let us be clear: al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day.”

The president, who left the room to applause from an audience carefully chosen to reflect diverse perspectives, invoked the “Holy Koran” twice, and the “Holy Bible” once.

“It’s easier to start wars than to end them” he said. “It’s easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is one rule that lies at the heart of every religion – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. [Applause] This truth transcends nations and peoples.”

Obama got a standing early ovation when he declared: “I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.

But some audience members gasped when he followed that with: “That same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire.”

The speech – delivered in Egypt, where the political opposition can be jailed, beaten or outlawed — is a major test of Obama’s ability to translate his appealing rhetoric into real change at what he acknowledged is “a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world.”

But conservative former U.S. Ambassador to United Nations John Bolton said he considered that one of several "flawed premises" upon which the speech was built, noting America's longstanding alliance with Saudi Arabia as sign that it's not all tension between the U.S. and Arab allies.

"This is another Obama blame America first moment," Bolton said.

Bolton also criticized Obama for what he called "a very hard line against Israeli settlements."

"When you criticize your strongest ally in an environment like that, it is intended to send a message to that ally," he said.

Liz Cheney, a former State Department official and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, said it was a "well-delivered speech" and that Obama's personal story "sends a message about America being a land of opportunity."

But after hearing Obama discuss the long and troubled history of U.S-Iranian relations, she said, "I was troubled by the extent to which I heard moral relativism. I heard the president talk about Iran as though we’ve done some bad things to Iran and they’ve done some bad things to us but now we just need to get together here to go forward — rather than acknowledging the fact that Iran is the world’s largest terrorist-sponsoring state."

Obama, who talked little about his own connections to Islam on the campaign trail, invoked what he called his “own experience” as he delivered on a campaign promise to make a major address on Muslim soil early in his presidency.



“I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims,” he said. “As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.”

The comments in what he called “the timeless city of Cairo” are by far the most extensive he has made about his Muslim roots. Obama added another personal note as he insisted on greater religious freedom throughout the world: “I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. That is the spirit we need today.”

Conservative critics seized on a passage in which he said: “Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; progress must be shared.”

However, Obama spoke bluntly of some of the “sources of tension” between the cultures, including head scarves and the role of women, but did not include the word “terrorism” or its variants.

“I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world,” he said. “One based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles – principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.:”

On “women’s rights,” the president drew applause when he said: “I know there is debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.”

And another applause line: “Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons.”

Echoing a message aides had emphasized in their previews of the speech, Obama declared that “change cannot happen overnight.”

“No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point,” Obama said. “But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground.”

Turning briefly to specifics, he said: “We will expand exchange programs, and increase scholarships, like the one that brought my father to America, while encouraging more Americans to study in Muslim communities. And we will match promising Muslim students with internships in America; invest in on-line learning for teachers and children around the world; and create a new online network, so a teenager in Kansas can communicate instantly with a teenager in Cairo.”

Obama concluded with brief quotations from the Koran, the Talmud and the Bible – the holy books of what he called “the three great faiths.” Then he added: “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 administration has been signaling a tougher line with Israel, and Obama made remarks that can be taken as sympathetic to Palestinians for what he called “the daily humiliations – large and small – that come with occupation.”

“So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable,” he said. “America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.”

In remarks that will likely rankle some supporters of Israel in the U.S. Congress, he added: “Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop. Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society.”

Source :http://news.yahoo.com

Israel hopes Obama speech will lead to peace

Israel hopes Obama speech will lead to peace


BySTEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writer




JERUSALEM – Israel said it hoped President Barack Obama's speech to the Muslim world Thursday would help usher in a "new period of reconciliation" in the Middle East, but the positive emphasis barely masked discomfort over key policy differences highlighted in the historic address.

A government statement skirted any reference to Obama's calls for a settlement freeze in the West Bank and the creation of an independent Palestinian state — demands that Israel's hawkish prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, continues to reject.

"We share President Obama's hope that the American effort heralds the beginning of a new era that will bring about an end to the conflict and lead to Arab recognition of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, living in peace and security in the Middle East," the statement said, noting that Israeli's security must also be guaranteed in any future peace moves.

Israelis had mixed reactions to Obama's speech, which was meant to heal rifts between the U.S. and the Muslim world.

One government official said the speech could have been worse for Israel, while a settler spokeswoman called Obama naive and out of touch with reality. Israel's dovish president, Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres, said it was "full of vision."

Obama devoted significant time in his speech to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He asked Muslims to accept Israel's right to exist as a nation that came about after centuries of persecution and the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews. He urged his audience to speak out against Holocaust denial, a common occurrence in the Arab world.

He also made an emotional plea for the right of Palestinians to live in dignity in an independent state of their own. He even used the term "Palestine," in a break from standard references to a future Palestinian state.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed Obama's words. "It shows there is a new and different American policy toward the Palestinian issue," said his spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdeneh.

Israel, the country most on edge about Obama's outreach to Muslims, tried to put a positive face on Thursday's events. Israel's hawkish government clearly did not want to exacerbate already palpable tensions with the liberal U.S. president.

"All in all, it's not bad. I don't think there's anything we disagree with here," said Danny Seaman, the director of Israel's Government Press Office.

"The state of Israel isn't against reconciliation," he added, but warned against any moves that could "be used by the extremists to endanger Israel and endanger the peace process."

Aliza Herbst, a 56-year-old resident of the West Bank settlement of Ofra, calmly watched Obama's speech on television and when he finished said "his naivety can be dangerous."

"You can have your speechwriters find every good thing a Muslim has ever done. But more modern history is that the Muslim world is at war with the Western world," she said, referring to the speech's myriad references to historical contributions by Muslims.

Michael Ben-Ari, an Israeli lawmaker from a far-right ultranationalist party, took the criticism of Obama a step further.

"His hatred for the people of Israel led him to deliver a most dangerous speech that exposed his pro-Islamic trends, designed to undermine the vision of the people of Israel returning to their homeland," he said.

Many Israelis had been anxious about Obama's speech, fearing the U.S. leader would use the stage to step up his recent criticism of Israel.

But Seaman, the Israeli official, said the speech had no major surprises and that the current disagreements between Israel and the U.S. are "well-known." Netanyahu has refused to endorse a Palestinian state and said settlement construction will continue.

Yuli Tamir, a dovish lawmaker from the centrist Labor Party, was filled with praise for Obama and his speech.

"It's one of the most important speeches ever delivered, a key speech for changing the climate in the Middle East. Israel will make a big mistake if it ignores it," she said.

___

Associated Press writers Joseph Marks in Ofra, West Bank, and Amy Teibel and Ian Deitch in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Issues Obama outlined in speech to Muslim world

Issues Obama outlined in speech to Muslim world

By The Associated Press

VIOLENT EXTREMISM

"In Ankara, (Turkey), I made clear that America is not and never will be at war with Islam. We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject, the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as president to protect the American people."

___

AFGHANISTAN

"We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and now Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case."

___

IRAQ

"Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible."

___

ARAB-ISRAELI PEACE

"The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security. That is in Israel's interests, Palestine's interests, America's interests, and the world's interests. And that's why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all of the patience and dedication that the task requires."

___

NUCLEAR WEAPONS

"It is clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests. It's about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path."

___

DEMOCRACY

"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."

___

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

"People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind and the heart and the soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive."

___

WOMEN'S RIGHTS

"Our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity, men and women, to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal. And I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice."

___

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND OPPORTUNITY

"Trade can bring new wealth and opportunities but also huge disruptions and change in communities. In all nations, including America, this change can bring fear; fear that, because of modernity, we lose control over our economic choices, our politics, and most importantly, our identities, those things we most cherish about our communities, our families, our traditions, and our faith. But I also know that human progress cannot be denied."

Source : http://news.yahoo.com

Obama Speech a Good Start, but Finish Remains Uncertain

Obama Speech a Good Start, but Finish Remains Uncertain
RealClearPolitics.com
David Paul Kuhn David Paul Kuhn – Thu Jun 4, 1:00 am ET

“It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true,” President Barack Obama said this morning in Egypt.


This is the great fact of the region. Thomas Friedman's column yesterday deftly summed up the chasm in the Middle East between understanding the problems and taking the action needed to solve those problems—not to mention even the less-dire repercussions of those brave enough to make the hard choices.

Israeli parliamentary governments are fragile. They do not have the leeway of an American president. Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu appears married to his conservative coalition. If he is to be the hawk who makes peace, then he will have to be willing to risk his power to construct a new coalition that will back that peace.

The Muslim authoritarian powers often depend on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to distract their people from the corruption and repression at home. They have a great stake in the Israeli scapegoat and keeping the Palestinians in plight. And the president understands that.

"The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems," he said Thursday.

Israeli conservatives are strident Zionists. Yet all, but the most radical, know that Israel either can be a Jewish state or a bigger state. The rising population of the Palestinians, their struggle and the way the issue forces Israel into a political bunker on the world stage, leaves no choice but the hard choices. Well, that's not exactly true. As an Israeli teenager once said, we don't have peace but at least we are not at war. This is a region that has been forced to accept the imperfect.

Now the United States asks Israel to take the first step and freeze settlements. Israelis understandably ask, what about step two, three, four and so on? Who are they to negotiate peace with? Hamas, however slightly, won the most support in the last Palestinian election. In the last 24 hours, Hamas and Fatah again clashed in the West Bank, leaving three Hamas members and a Palestinian policeman dead.

As their leaders fight, regular Palestinians remain in limbo. Obama spoke this morning of the "occupation" suffered by the Palestinian people. That was further than past presidents were willing to go. He tied that Palestinian struggle to the Jewish experience. Yet poetry is easy here. It's the prose of daily life, the action now needed, which is the real challenge before Obama.

Obama, as RealClearPolitics reported this morning, has become the Mediator-in-Chief. Now he has picked perhaps the world's most difficult dispute to resolve.

This brings us full circle to Friedman's column. Friedman interviewed Obama. As with today's speech, one walks away from the column comforted that the president understands that the Middle East depends on action and not talk. Obama clearly gets the big picture of the region's big problems.

But moving forward, agreeing on the most pressing problem is also part of the problem. The Palestinians are consumed by stability and statehood. The Israelis are deeply worried about an Iran on the cusp of nuclearization. Iran's foreign policy is focused on defending its domestic nuclearization.

The Arab regimes drum for a two-state solution. But again one asks, what will those authoritarian regimes do without their Israeli piñata? Self-preservation pervades all foreign policy, but particularly autocracies. And many Arab leaders remain equally weary of the rooster of radicalism coming home to roost ever more.

Still, to be sure, it is always good to have an American president speaking the hard truths. Today's speech was a good start. But this region is full of starts. It's the finish that feels like a mirage in the Middle East. History depends on follow-through.

Source :http://news.yahoo.com

Text of Obama's speech to Muslims

By The Associated Press The Associated Press



Text of President Barack Obama's speech at Cairo University, as provided by CQ Transcriptions.


Good afternoon. I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, al-Azhar has, had stood as a beacon of Islamic learning. And for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress.

I'm grateful for your hospitality and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. And I'm also proud to carry with me the good will of the American people and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: Assalamu Alaikum.

(APPLAUSE)

We meet at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the world, tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation but also conflict and religious wars.

More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims and a Cold War in which Muslim majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.

Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11, 2001, and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries but also to human rights.

All this has bred more fear and more mistrust. So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. And this cycle of suspicion and discord must end.

I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap and share common principles, principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. I know there's been a lot of publicity about this speech, but no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust nor can I answer in the time that I have this afternoon all the complex questions that brought us to this point.

But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground.

As the holy Quran tells us: "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth."

(APPLAUSE)

That is what I will try to do today, to speak the truth as best I can. Humbled by the task before us and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.

Now, part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I'm a Christian. But my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and at the fall of dusk.

As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith. As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam at places like al-Azhar that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities...

(APPLAUSE)

It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra, our magnetic compass and tools of navigation, our mastery of pens and printing, our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires, timeless poetry and cherished music, elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.

(APPLAUSE)

I also know that Islam has always been a part of America's story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second president, John Adams, wrote:

"The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims."

And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars. They have served in our government. They have stood for civil rights. They have started businesses. They have taught at our universities. They've excelled in our sports arenas. They've won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building and lit the Olympic torch. And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same holy Quran that one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, kept in his personal library.

(APPLAUSE)

So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.

(APPLAUSE)

But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as...

(APPLAUSE)

Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire.

We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal. And we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words, within our borders and around the world.

We are shaped by every culture. Drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept, E pluribus unum: Out of many, one.

Now much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected president.

(APPLAUSE)

But my personal story is not so unique. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores. And that includes nearly 7 million American Muslims in our country today who, by the way, enjoy incomes and educational levels that are higher than the American average.

Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state in our union and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That's why the United States government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.

So let there be no doubt...

(APPLAUSE)

... let there be no doubt, Islam is a part of America. And I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations: to live in peace and security, to get an education and to work with dignity, to love our families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all humanity.

Of course, recognizing our common humanity is only the beginning of our task. Words alone cannot meet the needs of our people. These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead. And if we understand that the challenges we face are shared and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.

For we have learned from recent experience that when a financial system weakens in one country, prosperity is hurt everywhere. When a new flu infects one human being, all are at risk. When one nation pursues a nuclear weapon, the risk of nuclear attack rises for all nations.

When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. When innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience.

(APPLAUSE)

That is what it means to share this world in the 21st Century. That is the responsibility we have to one another as human beings. This is a difficult responsibility to embrace, for human history has often been a record of nations and tribes, and, yes, religions subjugating one another in pursuit of their own interests.

Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners to it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership, our progress must be shared.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, that does not mean we should ignore sources of tension. Indeed, it suggests the opposite. We must face these tensions squarely. And so, in that spirit, let me speak as clearly and as plainly as I can about some specific issues that I believe we must finally confront together.

The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all its forms. In Ankara, I made clear that America is not and never will be at war with Islam.

(APPLAUSE)

We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject, the killing of innocent men, women and children. And it is my first duty as president to protect the American people.

The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al-Qaida and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice. We went because of necessity. I'm aware that there's still some who would question or even justify the offense of 9/11. But let us be clear. Al-Qaida killed nearly 3,000 people on that day.

The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet al-Qaida chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach.

These are not opinions to be debated. These are facts to be dealt with. Make no mistake, we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We see no military — we seek no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict.

We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan, and now Pakistan, determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.

And that's why we're partnering with a coalition of 46 countries. And despite the costs involved, America's commitment will not weaken. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists. They have killed in many countries. They have killed people of different faiths but, more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam.

The holy Quran teaches that whoever kills an innocent is as — it is as it if has killed all mankind.

(APPLAUSE)

And the holy Quran also says whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind.

(APPLAUSE)

The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism; it is an important part of promoting peace.

Now, we also know that military power alone is not going solve the problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That's why we plan to invest $1.5 billion each year over the next five years to partner with Pakistanis to build schools and hospitals, roads and businesses, and hundreds of millions to help those who've been displaced.

That's why we are providing more than $2.8 billion to help Afghans develop their economy and deliver services that people depend on.

Now, let me also address the issue of Iraq. Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible.

(APPLAUSE)

Indeed, we can recall the words of Thomas Jefferson, who said: "I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power and teach us that the less we use our power, the greater it will be."

Today America has a dual responsibility to help Iraq forge a better future and to leave Iraq to Iraqis. I have made it clear to the Iraqi people...

(APPLAUSE)

I have made it clear to the Iraqi people that we pursue no basis and no claim on their territory or resources. Iraq's sovereignty is its own. And that's why I ordered the removal of our combat brigades by next August. That is why we will honor our agreement with Iraq's democratically-elected government to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by July and to remove all of our troops from Iraq by 2012.

(APPLAUSE)

We will help Iraq train its security forces and develop its economy. But we will support a secure and united Iraq as a partner and never as a patron.

And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter or forget our principles. 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable. But in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our traditions and our ideals.

We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States. And I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.

(APPLAUSE)

So America will defend itself, respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law. And we will do so in partnership with Muslim communities, which are also threatened. The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer.

Now, the second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world. America's strong bonds with Israel are well-known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.

Around the world the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries. And anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich.

Six million Jews were killed, more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless. It is ignorant, and it is hateful.

Threatening Israel with destruction or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews is deeply wrong and only serves to evoke in the minds of the Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.

On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people, Muslims and Christians, have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than 60 years, they've endured the pain of dislocation.

Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations, large and small, that come with occupation.

So let there be no doubt, the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. And America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity and a state of their own.

(APPLAUSE)

For decades, then, there has been a stalemate. Two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It's easy to point fingers.

For Palestinians to point to the displacement brought about by Israel's founding and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history, from within its borders as well as beyond.

But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth. The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.

(APPLAUSE)

That is in Israel's interests, Palestine's interests, America's interests and the world's interests. And that's why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all of the patience and dedication that the task requires.

The obligations — the obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them and all of us to live up to our responsibilities.

Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and it does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding.

This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia, to Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: violence is a dead end. It is a sign neither of courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children or to blow up old women on a bus. That's not how moral authority is claimed, that's how it is surrendered.

Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern with institutions that serve the needs of its people.

Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have to recognize they have responsibilities, to play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, recognize Israel's right to exist.

At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.

(APPLAUSE)

This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.

(APPLAUSE)

And Israel must also live up to its obligation to ensure that Palestinians can live and work and develop their society. Just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security, neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank.

Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be a critical part of a road to peace. And Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.

And, finally, the Arab states must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibility. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state, to recognize Israel's legitimacy and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.

America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and we will say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs.

We cannot impose peace. But privately, many Muslims recognize that Israel will not go away. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state.

It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true. Too many tears have been shed, too much blood has been shed.

All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians could, can see their children grow up without fear, when the holy land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be, when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra — as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed — peace be upon them — joined in prayer.

(APPLAUSE)

The third source of tension is our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons. This issue has been a source of tension between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. For many years, Iran has defined itself, in part, by its opposition to my country. And there is, in fact, a tumultuous history between us.

In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government. Since the Islamic revolution, Iran has played a role in acts of hostage taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians. This history is well known.

Rather than remain trapped in the past, I've made it clear to Iran's leaders and people that my country is prepared to move forward. The question now is not what Iran is against but, rather, what future it wants to build.

I recognize it will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust, but we will proceed with courage, rectitude, and resolve. There will be many issues to discussion between our two countries, and we are willing to move forward without preconditions on the basis of mutual respect.

But it is clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests.

It's about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.

Now, I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nations should pick and choose which nation holds nuclear weapons. And that's why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons.

(APPLAUSE)

And any nation, including Iran, should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the treaty. And it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I am hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.

The fourth issue that I will address is democracy.

(APPLAUSE)

I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years. And much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear. No system of government can or should be imposed by one nation by any other. That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people.

Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election.

But 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.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, there is no straight line to realize this promise. But this much is clear. Governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments, provided they govern with respect for all their people.

This last point is important because there are some who advocate for democracy only when they're out of power. Once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others.

(APPLAUSE)

So no matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who would hold power. You must maintain your power through consent, not coercion. You must respect the rights of minorities and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise. You must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party.

Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.

(AUDIENCE MEMBER SHOUTS)

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom. Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia where devout Christians worshipped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country.

That is the spirit we need today. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind and the heart and the soul.

This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive. But it's being challenged in many different ways. Among some Muslims, there's a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of somebody else's faith.

The richness of religious diversity must be upheld, whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt.

(APPLAUSE)

And if we are being honest, fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.

Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which people protect it. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation.

That's why I'm committed to work with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat. Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit, for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear.

We can't disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretense of liberalism. In fact, faith should bring us together. And that's why we're forging service projects in America to bring together Christians, Muslims and Jews.

That's why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's interfaith dialogue and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations.

Around the world, we can turn dialogue into interfaith service so bridges between peoples lead to action, whether it is combating malaria in Africa or providing relief after a natural disaster.

The sixth issue — the sixth issue that I want to address is women's rights.

(APPLAUSE)

I know, and you can tell from this audience, that there is a healthy debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal. But I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality.

(APPLAUSE)

And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.

Now let me be clear, issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, we've seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead.

Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life and in countries around the world. I am convinced that our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons.

(APPLAUSE)

Our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity, men and women, to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal. And I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice.

That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams.

(APPLAUSE)

Finally, I want to discuss economic development and opportunity. I know that for many, the face of globalization is contradictory. The Internet and television can bring knowledge and information but also offensive sexuality and mindless violence into the home.

Trade can bring new wealth and opportunities but also huge disruptions and change in communities. In all nations, including America, this change can bring fear; fear that, because of modernity, we lose control over our economic choices, our politics, and most importantly, our identities, those things we most cherish about our communities, our families, our traditions and our faith.

But I also know that human progress cannot be denied. There need not be contradictions between development and tradition. Countries like Japan and South Korea grew their economies enormously while maintaining distinct cultures. The same is true for the astonishing progress within Muslim majority countries from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai.

In ancient times and in our times, Muslim communities have been at the forefront of innovation and education. And this is important because no development strategy can be based only upon what comes out of the ground nor can it be sustained while young people are out of work.

Many Gulf States have enjoyed great wealth as a consequence of oil, and some are beginning to focus it on broader development. But all of us must recognize that education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century. And in too...

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And in too many Muslim communities, there remains underinvestment in these areas. I am emphasizing such investment within my own country. And while America, in the past, has focused on oil and gas when it comes to this part of the world, we new seek a broader engagement.

On education, we will expand change programs and increase scholarships like the one that brought my father to America.

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At the same time, we will encourage more Americans to study in Muslim communities. And we will match promising Muslim students with internships in America, invest in online learning for teachers and children around the world and create a new, online network so a young person in Kansas can communicate instantly with a young person in Cairo.

On economic development, we will create a new core of business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim majority countries. And I will host a summit on entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.

On science and technology, we will launch a new fund to support technological development in Muslim majority country and to help transfer ideas to the marketplace so they can create more jobs. We will open centers of scientific excellence in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia and appoint new science envoys to collaborate on programs that develop new sources of energy, create green jobs, digitize records, clean water, grow new crops.

Today, I'm announcing a new global effort with the organization of the Islamic Conference to eradicate polio. And we will also expand partnerships with Muslim communities to promote child and maternal health.

All these things must be done in partnership. Americans are ready to join with citizens and governments, community organizations, religious leaders, and businesses in Muslim communities around the world to help our people pursue a better life.

The issues that I have described will not be easy to address, but we have a responsibility to join together to behalf of the world that we seek, a world where extremists no longer threaten our people and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes, a world where governments serve their citizens and the rights of all God's children are respected. Those are mutual interests. That is the world we seek. But we can only achieve it together. I know there are many, Muslim and non-Muslim, who question whether we can forge this new beginning. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division and to stand in the way of progress. Some suggest that it isn't worth the effort, that we are fated to disagree and civilizations are doomed to clash.

Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur. There is so much fear, so much mistrust that has built up over the years. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith in every country. You more than anyone have the ability to reimagine the world, the remake this world.

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart or whether we commit ourselves to an effort, a sustained effort to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is one rule that lies at the heart of every religion, that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

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This truth transcends nations and peoples, a belief that isn't new, that isn't black or white or brown, that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's a faith in other people. And it's what brought me here today.

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 Quran tells us: "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."

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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. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

END

Source :http://news.yahoo.com