CAIRO – Quoting from the Quran for emphasis, President Barack Obama called
for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims" Thursday and said
together, they could confront violent extremism across the globe and advance the
timeless search for peace in the Middle East.
"This cycle of suspicion and discord must end," Obama said in a widely
anticipated speech in one of the world's largest Muslim countries, an address
designed to reframe relations after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and
the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
The White House said Obama's speech contained no new policy proposals on the
Middle East. He said American ties with Israel are unbreakable, yet issued a
firm, evenhanded call to the Jewish state and Palestinians alike to live up to
their international obligations.
In a gesture to the Islamic world, Obama conceded at the beginning of his
remarks that tension "has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and
opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries
were often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations."
"And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States
to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear," said the
president, who recalled hearing prayer calls of "azaan" at dawn and dusk while
living in Indonesia as a boy.
At the same time, he said the same principle must apply in reverse. "Just as
Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a
self-interested empire."
Obama spoke at Cairo University after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak on the second stop of a four-nation trip to the Middle East and Europe.
The speech was the centerpiece of his journey, and while its tone was striking,
the president also covered the Middle East peace process, Iran, the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq and the violent struggle waged by al-Qaida.
Obama arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday, greeted by a new and threatening
message from al-Qaida's leader, Osama bin Laden. In an audio recording, the
terrorist leader said the president inflamed the Muslim world by ordering
Pakistan to crack down on militants in the Swat Valley and block Islamic law
there.
But Obama said the actions of violent extremist Muslims are "irreconcilable with
the rights of human beings," and quoted the Quran to make his point: "be
conscious of God and always speak the truth ..."
"Islam is not part of the problem in combatting violent extremism — it is an
important part of promoting peace," he said.
"Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize
Israel's right to exist," he said of the organization the United States deems as
terrorists.
"The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with
institutions that serve the needs of its people," Obama said.
"At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to
exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine. The United States does not accept
the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements" on the West Bank and outskirts
of Jerusalem, he said. "It is time for these settlements to stop."
As for Jerusalem itself, he said it should be a "secure and lasting home for
Jews and Christians and Muslims ..."
Obama also said the Arab nations should no longer use the conflict with Israel
to distract their own people from other problems.
He treaded lightly on one issue that President George W. Bush had made a
centerpiece of his second term — the spread of democracy.
Obama said he has a commitment to governments "that reflect the will of the
people." And yet, he said, "No system of government can or should be imposed
upon one nation by any other."
At times, there was an echo of Obama's campaign mantra of change in his remarks,
and he said many are afraid it cannot occur.
"There is so much fear, so much mistrust. But if we choose to be bound by the
past, we will never move forward," he said. |
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