Obama for new beginning between U.S. and Muslims
| June 4th, 2009 | By: Piyush Goyal | Category: Featured
DUBAI: Quoting extensively from the Quran and the Bible, President of the United States Barack Obama on Thursday unveiled his vision of inter-faith reconciliation and outlined an agenda of inclusive partnership on a global scale.
In an hour-long speech directed specially at an international Muslim audience, Mr. Obama spoke about ways to address the sources of tension in southwest Asia.
The President, in his Cairo University address, also spoke about the broad principles to defuse the Israel-Palestine conflict and ease tensions surrounding Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He said the purpose of his address was to seek a new beginning between the U.S. and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect.
Mr. Obama rejected the theory of the inevitability of the “clash of civilizations.” He advocated a two-state solution to end the Israel-Palestine conflict, and stressed that the U.S. did not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.
“No military bases”
He said the U.S. would not establish military bases either in Iraq or Afghanistan. He reiterated his offer of a dialogue with Iran without any preconditions.
Mr. Obama began his address with the traditional Islamic greeting “Assalaamu Alaykum” and this drew a huge round of applause.
“The cycle of suspicion and discord must end,” he said vowing to fight “negative stereotypes of Islam” wherever they appear.
Mixed response
A PTI report from Jerusalem said Mr. Obama’s speech evoked mixed response in the Middle East with the Palestinian Authority (PA) describing it as a “good start.” Right-wing Israelis, however, slammed it and asked Tel Aviv’s leadership to stay defiant amid calls to halt settlements.
“His call for stopping settlement and for the establishment of a Palestinian state, and his reference to the suffering of Palestinians… is a clear message to Israel that a just peace is built on the foundations of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” an aide to PA President Mahmoud Abbas said.
“A good start”
“President Obama’s speech is a good start and an important step towards a new American policy,” said Nabil Abu Rdeineh, who normally views Mr. Abbas’ opinion to the public.
A Reuters report from Cairo quoted MP Hassan Fadlallah of Lebanon’s Hezbollah as saying, “The Islamic world does not need moral or political sermons. It needs a fundamental change in American policy.”
It also quoted Mohamed Habib, deputy leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, as saying: “It’s a public relations address more than anything else.”
Syrian lawyer Mohannad al-Hassani said, “He should have been outspoken about democracy and the universal principles of human rights.”
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