Ever since his days on the campaign trail, Obama had preached of religious equality and fixing ties with the Arab World, but I had never really expected such a well coordinated effort so soon. The people of the Middle East have recently had low expectations from American leaders, and have all the right to do so after having dealt with our obviously dyslexic Ex-President Bush for 8 years. But today, when they were greeted by a very articulate and brilliant man who reflected his education and understanding of the Middle East and the Islamic religion, I am sure they were very impressed.
President Obama started of his speech by respectfully saying "Asalam Alakum" (which means peace be upon you an Arabic, a common greeting). He then when on to admit how much mislabelling Muslims had to deal with, especially in the US, in the wake of 9/11. He put out a call for a new beginning, so that the Muslims shall not be persecuted in the US solely based on their religious principles and beliefs. He admitted that this much needed change will not come overnight, but yet was willing to put in as much work as he needs to to achieve this distant goal. He then goes on to say that this uneasiness and distrust between the Arab World and the US should have never happened in the first place, because the US was known for its ties with Middle Eastern countries centuries ago. He used the Treaty of Tripoli as an example, because that was the time that Morocco, Tripoli and Algiers had signed an peace agreement with US, and upheld it well as well. He then went on to show his support for the fight against the rise of a negative and "crude stereotype" for Muslims in the United States, and also went on to praise the 7 million Muslims living within the Us borders by revealing the little-known fact that they actually have an average income than the average American. He also appealed to the more traditional Muslims in the audience by pointing out the fact that the US Courts have ruled in the favor of Muslim girls being allowed to wear their Hijabs freely within the US. (I actually want to see what the Liberals in the US will say about this since they have always fought the acceptance of the Hijab in favor of women's rights). He then concludes his introduction by letting it be known that 'Islam is a part of America'.
He then started to be more specific and spoke of 7 important matters that I have discussed below;
1. Extremism: Continuing on with drawing a line between Muslims and terrorist, Obama went ton to speak about the US's ongoing fight with Extremist parties in the Middle East. He made his point clear by saying that "America has never been, and will never be, at war with Islam". I found this to be a very powerful sentence because this addresses the ongoing persecution and racial profiling that Muslims have faced within the US since 9/11 based purely on their religion.
He said that the US solely blames Al Qaeda for the attacks and will continue fighting them, with the aid of 46 countries in the coalition and the commitment will not weaken because not only have these extremists killed many Americans (civilians and troops) but Muslims worldwide as well. And he goes on to say that his fight against the extremists is not just through military excursions, but by working together with the governments harboring these terrorist, and goes on to explain how the US has invested $1.5 billion in aid Pakistan's build new schools and infrastructure, and $208 billion to help rebuild Afghanistan's economy. He concluded this part of his speech by admitting that Iraq was a war of choice (by a misinformed leader), but will not be an occupation. He said that he plans on rebuilding the Iraqi government and will withdraw all US Troops from Iraq by 2012 (the first clear outline given of the withdrawal of troops)
2. The second issue he discussed was the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Now this was a very touchy issue and I congratulate our President for being able to speak about both sides without showing any form of bias. He acknowledged Israeli-American ties, but announced that they don't have anything to do with the US's views on the matter. He admits that both Israeli's and Palestinians have suffered greatly and have lost a lot in the fight to gain a homeland. He then went on to support the Two-State Solution, which I personally believe is also the best method to resolve this conflict. He then wrapped this part of the speech up by proclaiming that he wants Jerusalem to be a place of peace, and to serve its role as the birthplace of the 3 major religions.
3. Nuclear Weapons. Even though he did not speak greatly on this matter, he did outline his intention for the world, which is a world with no nuclear weapons. Now do I believe this to be possible? No. I find it to be highly unlikely, but for the fate of mankind, I sure hope he succeeds.
4. The fourth matter he discussed was the the eternal pursuit of Democracy the US seems to have. We have seen the US get criticised time and time again for their views on foreign policy, and for their eagerness to 'stick their nose in others business', but he said that the only reason is the quest for international democracy. He said that the US aims to achieve freedom internationally and will continue to support a government of the people, by the people to set standards.
5. His fifth speaking point was about Religious freedom. When discussing this matter, Obama slightly criticised the Muslim world for their inability to accept other religions. He also spoke of the riff between Sunni's and Shiites within the Muslim community, and let his thought be clear on the matter, that the US was not happy about this. He went on to say that "Freedom of Religion is central for people living together".
6 & 7. The last two points that Obama spoke of was abouts women's rights and how denying a woman education is denying her equality. He pointed out that nations who have educated women, and more so, women elected into power are usually the most prosperous ones. He then connected his mention of prosperity to speak about development. He mentioned many aspects of development and the constant struggle between development and tradition. He advocated the growth of scientific research and pointed out many examples of how he is pushing for scientific innovation and the technological growth within the US.
Overall, I thought this speech was brilliant and will surely be a stepping stone to strengthening US- Middle East ties.
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