Global Arab Network | From Egypt, Obama extends hand of friendship to Muslim World

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From Egypt, Obama extends hand of friendship to Muslim World

President Barack Obama will journey to the center of Arab-Muslim civilization this week, to begin the daunting task of draining deep mistrust of the United States felt across the Islamic world.

In Egypt on Thursday, Obama will make a personal address to the world's Muslims, harnessing his own ancestral ties to Islam and globalizing his message of change in an speech rich in trademark political ambition.

Respect for Islam, a prescription for Palestinian statehood and assurances of a speedy U.S. pullout from Iraq — that's what Muslims from Morocco to Malaysia say they want to hear from President Barack Obama this week when he addresses them from this Arab capital.

His speech will try to soften the fury toward the United States among so many of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, ignited by the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the hands-off attitude toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict of his predecessor George W. Bush.

Obama's offer of a new beginning is seen as an attempt to stem the growing influence of extremists — particularly Iran, with its regional and nuclear ambitions — and to bolster moderate Muslim allies.

It comes just days ahead of crucial elections in Lebanon and Iran — where the appeal of militancy will be put to the test — and amid worsening violence in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

White House aides stressed that Mr Obama will be particularly focused on the Muslim world’s youth. “Egypt is, like much of the Muslim world, a young country with a burgeoning younger population that the President looks very much forward to engaging directly in his speech,” said Denis McDonough, Mr Obama’s Deputy National Security Director.

Robert Gibbs, Mr Obama’s press secretary, said that the President “will outline his personal commitment to engagement, based upon mutual interests and mutual respect. He will discuss how the United States and Muslim communities around the world can bridge some of the differences that have divided them.”

Asked if Mr Obama would meet the Egyptian Opposition, Mr McDonough said that the “full range of political actors in Egypt” had been invited to the speech, which will be delivered at the University of Cairo and co-hosted by al-Azhar University, an ancient centre of Islamic scholarship.

Mr Obama, whose Kenyan father was Muslim, lived for several years as a child in predominately-Muslim Indonesia. He pledged during his presidential campaign to improve relations with Muslims after the hostility caused by events such as the Iraq war and the Abu Ghraib prisoner scandal.

White House aides warned that the speech will contain few detailed policy prescriptions for the region. Yet they hope that the simple fact of a black American President with a middle name of Hussein, pledging respect for Islam in a leading Arab country, will generate excitement, and less cynicism, in the Muslim world.

The speech is the latest move by Mr Obama to improve America’s standing with Muslims. He delivered a video message to the Iranian people earlier this year and reassured Muslims that the US was not at war with Islam during a speech inside the Turkish parliament. Thursday’s Cairo address is part of a broader itinerary this week. Mr Obama begins his fourth trip abroad as President with a stop on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia.

Egyptian dissident seeks Obama's help

An Egyptian opposition leader says he's waiting for U.S. President Barack Obama to press for democratic reforms in the Middle East.

One-time presidential candidate Ayman Nour, who was released from prison in February by the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, says that while Obama inspires respect and sympathy in Arab countries, his willingness to press undemocratic Middle Eastern regimes for reforms has yet to be seen, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"Obama is the most respected American president outside the United States in almost a century," Nour told the newspaper. "He is different. He has a different skin and comes from a different culture. … But so far, we can say that Obama has a confusing agenda as far as democracy in this region is concerned. If he gives up democratization, his work will be meaningless."

The Times said Nour was released as gesture to Obama, who will be in Cairo this week to make a major address to the Muslim world. He said he suspects Obama has given up some of his objections to the lack of human rights (UPI, AP, AFP, LATimes)

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