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Obama Speaks: “Assalaamu Alaykum”, Or "Peace Be Unto Whom?" - Shalom
5 June 2009
Offering the Arabic greeting of Assalaamu Alaykum, or "peace be unto you", in the early part of his speech and quoting a passage from the Holy Koran and cited his father's Muslim background in a bid to highlight his sensitivity to Islamic grievances against the West, US President Barack Obama addressed the Muslim world from Cairo in the second leg of his 5-Day tour to the Middle East. "America is not and never will be at war with Islam," Obama said. "We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims." Obama's long-awaited speech fulfilled a campaign promise and came after he held talks in Saudi Arabia Wednesday with King Abdullah and Thursday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak aimed at reviving Middle East peace moves. The US president, laying out an ambitious foreign policy, to match the audacity of his domestic program, spoke directly to Muslims on their arguments with America calling for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims." In so doing, he was attempting to cleanse the soiled US image in the Muslim world, including in over the Iraq war, the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal and the Guantanamo Bay war on so-called “terror camp”. Specifically targeting young Muslims, Obama said "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. There is so much fear, so much mistrust. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward." In a gesture, 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," he said. 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." On the issue of Iran Obama said the US will proceed with courage, rectitude and resolve. He acknowledged the United States' role in overthrowing the democratically elected Iranian government during the last century. He said it was going to be difficult to overcome decades of mistrust, adding that the US was willing to move forward with mutual respect and without preconditions. The US President said that no single nation should decide which countries have nuclear weapons adding that Iran had the right to peaceful nuclear energy, but added that the US would not hesitate to be tough in upcoming talks with the Islamic Republic. Speaking at Cairo University, Obama reaffirmed Washington's strong backing for a Palestinian state, using the term "Palestine" numerous times to highlight his administration's commitment to follow through on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While reaffirming Washington's "unbreakable bond" with Israel, Obama said that there can be no denying of the right of "Palestine" to exist, and that he would "personally pursue" the realization of a Palestinian state "with all the patience that the task requires." "Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's," Obama said. The US president also issued a blunt repudiation of Israel's settlement enterprise in the occupied West Bank, an issue that has strained Washington's ties with Tel Aviv. "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," Obama said. "This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop." "The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear," Obama said, referring to the multi-stage peace plan agreed to by Israel and the Palestinians during the Bush presidency. "If we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth," Obama 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. That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest," he added. Israeli Minister: Obama Mustn’t Pressure Us Speaking shortly before Obama's historic "reconciliation speech" to the Muslim world in Cairo, Israeli Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein said that the United States should direct its pressure at the Palestinians rather than at the Israeli side. Edelstein told Ynet that "Israel is not the right side to pressure. I believe the pressure should be directed at the other side. The United States has no other ally like Israel – from Washington to Africa." "I also think that some Congress members from his own party told President Obama what I wish to say to him a moment before the speech. The paradox here is that we know the moderate Arab countries Obama is appealing to are actually interested in bolstering Israel, and fear Iran and elements like Hezbollah and Hamas," the Israeli minister added. Edelstein went on to call for a direct dialogue with the Americans in order to clarify the differences of opinion, including on the outpost issue. "I have personally never suggested doing something in the middle of the night. With the Americans it's very important to say things in a clear language and in the same way as the president and the prime minister are talking now. They are both telling the truth – that life in Judea and Samaria cannot be halted and frozen."
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