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Title: In speech in Cairo, Barack Obama seeks 'common ground' with Islam - Quotes Koran, Mentions 9-1-1
Source: Politico
URL Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23334.html
Published: Jun 4, 2009
Author: MIKE ALLEN | 6/4/09 8:55 AM EDT Text Siz
Post Date: 2009-06-04 09:09:30 by HAPPY2BME-4UM
Keywords: None
Views: 558
Comments: 40

CAIRO – In remarks being translated live for broadcasts and Webcasts in every major language, President Barack Obama said Thursday that the United States wants “common ground” and “a new beginning” with the Muslim world, where America’s image plummeted with the Bush administration’s response to the 9/11 attacks.

"Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President. But my personal story is not so unique," he said in the Grand Hall of Cairo University. "The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores.”

The 55-minute speech was remarkable and historic not so much for the delivery or even the words, but for the context, the orator, the moment. Obama included blunt talk about the United States, Israel, Iraq, his predecessor and al Qaeda.

“I am aware that some question or justify the events of 9/11,” he said, speaking before a red curtain and six pairs of U.S. and Egyptian flags. “But let us be clear: al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day.”

The president, who left the room to applause from an audience carefully chosen to reflect diverse perspectives, invoked the “Holy Koran” twice, and the “Holy Bible” once.

“It’s easier to start wars than to end them” he said. “It’s easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is one rule that lies at the heart of every religion – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. [Applause] This truth transcends nations and peoples.”

Obama got a standing early ovation when he declared: “I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.

But some audience members gasped when he followed that with: “That same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire.”

The speech – delivered in Egypt, where the political opposition can be jailed, beaten or outlawed — is a major test of Obama’s ability to translate his appealing rhetoric into real change at what he acknowledged is “a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world.”

Obama, who talked little about his own connections to Islam on the campaign trail, invoked what he called his “own experience” as he delivered on a campaign promise to make a major address on Muslim soil early in his presidency.

“I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims,” he said. “As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.”

The comments in what he called “the timeless city of Cairo” are by far the most extensive he has made about his Muslim roots. Obama added another personal note as he insisted on greater religious freedom throughout the world: “I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. That is the spirit we need today.”

Watch: Mike Allen's VIDEO Blog of Obama's Middle East Trip.

Conservative critics seized on a passage in which he said: “Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; progress must be shared.”

However, Obama spoke bluntly of some of the “sources of tension” between the cultures, including head scarves and the role of women, but did not include the word “terrorism” or its variants.

“I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world,” he said. “One based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles – principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.:”

On “women’s rights,” the president drew applause when he said: “I know there is debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.”

And another applause line: “Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons.”

Echoing a message aides had emphasized in their previews of the speech, Obama declared that “change cannot happen overnight.”

“No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point,” Obama said. “But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground.”

Turning briefly to specifics, he said: “We will expand exchange programs, and increase scholarships, like the one that brought my father to America, while encouraging more Americans to study in Muslim communities. And we will match promising Muslim students with internships in America; invest in on-line learning for teachers and children around the world; and create a new online network, so a teenager in Kansas can communicate instantly with a teenager in Cairo.”

Obama concluded with brief quotations from the Koran, the Talmud and the Bible – the holy books of what he called “the three great faiths.” Then he added: “The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God’s vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth. Thank you. And may God’s peace be upon you.”

The administration has been signaling a tougher line with Israel, and Obama made remarks that can be taken as sympathetic to Palestinians for what he called “the daily humiliations – large and small – that come with occupation.”

“So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable,” he said. “America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.”

In remarks that will likely rankle some supporters of Israel in the U.S. Congress, he added: “Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop. Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society.”

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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 40.

#3. To: HAPPY2BME-4UM (#0)

Excellent words, which time will prove to be just as hollow as those he spoke while campaigning.

Lod  posted on  2009-06-04   9:16:39 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

Excellent words, which time will prove to be just as hollow as those he spoke while campaigning.

That time will prove to be very short indeed if we continue to pound enclaves in a sovereign nation like Pakistan and the Israeli right shows itself to be immune to his persuasions.

When inflation hits here with Category 5 force winds as some economists forecast, he's going to have his hands so full domestically that all the glittering forays to Berlin, London, Cairo and Riyadh will be but distant memories.

randge  posted on  2009-06-04   9:29:27 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

I agree completely - this whole thing seems to be spiraling out of anyone's control.

Lod  posted on  2009-06-04   9:34:24 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

I agree completely - this whole thing seems to be spiraling out of anyone's control.

You're right ... it's the twilight zone !

noone222  posted on  2009-06-04   19:54:18 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

I love that show -

Lod  posted on  2009-06-04   20:00:38 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

Some Mideast intellectuals today, including Rami Khouri, editor at large of the Lebanon Daily Star (see agenceglobal.com) are happy about the speech, but are expressing concerns about its language. The concern is that many peoples live in the Mideast, and they just happen to be Islamic. Khouri talked of his own Christianity. He wants Americans to see the Mideast as a region with certain common problems, rather than a monolithic group of Muslims.

Khouri's main point was that Obama talked too much about Isalm in terms of continued, assumed divisions, even if he were trying to improve the situation. The buzz is that peoples across the Islamic world are for the most part living in tyrannical dictatorships linked to the present global order. Others have criticized Obama for speaking in Egypt, a police state which we help finance in order to facilitate peace with Israel.

These are profound observations, and I think it shows Obama's continuing reliance on "Clash of Civilizations" thinking. I'll note that Khouri was interrupted by the host of NPR. Perhaps that was inevitable due to timing, but I resented the fact that a significant point was being made and NPR didn't have time to hear it out.

Randge's observations that there are divisions in the west appear to be supported by this speech.

Deasy  posted on  2009-06-04   20:31:10 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

What Obamination BLATANTLY failed to point out:

ISLAMIC NATIONS ARE THE ONLY ONES ON EARTH THAT CARRY A DEATH SENTENCE FOR * NOT * BEING A MUSLIM

HAPPY2BME-4UM  posted on  2009-06-05   4:54:37 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

ISLAMIC NATIONS ARE THE ONLY ONES ON EARTH THAT CARRY A DEATH SENTENCE FOR * NOT * BEING A MUSLIM

Compare that to those who have been executed in the US because they were practicing some non approved form of Christianity....

NOTE TO SELF: Don't use Star Of David on blue background for my sect's flag....(Branch Davidians)

HOUNDDAWG  posted on  2009-06-05   5:03:18 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

Compare that to those who have been executed in the US because they were practicing some non approved form of Christianity....

=============================

Huh?
What?

HAPPY2BME-4UM  posted on  2009-06-05   5:11:23 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

Winter 1993, Vol. 22, No. 2

page 30

How David Koresh Was Foiled in Israel

by David Bedein

When Branch Davidian leader David Koresh, whose real name is Vernon Howell, visited Israel in 1990, he shared his plans to convert Jews to Christianity with Rabbi Avraham Feld, founder of the Maccabee Foundation. Koresh studied at several yeshivot, partook in traditional Sabbath meals, and opened his home to Jews who needed a place to stay. However, Feld successfully intervened before Koresh was able to bring a group of young Israelis back to the United States. Only Pablo Cohen, an Israeli musician, joined Koresh and remained loyal to him, eventually dying in the fire at Waco, Texas.

reformjudaismmag.net/cgi-...rch.pl?key=entire_archive

star-of-david.blogspot.co...e.html#117042027609895057

Picture of David Koresh flag/This flag was flown by the Branch Davidians over the Mount Carmel Center during the 1993 Waco Siege.

I wonder if the rumor is true that the Israelis had complained about Koresh's cult?

Deasy  posted on  2009-06-05   22:09:35 ET  (1 image) Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

Moral of the story: Don't mess with dynamite if ya got a screw loose.

randge  posted on  2009-06-05   23:30:12 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

It's easy to tell the difference between a cult and a traditional religion. Just ask CNN or Fox news. They'll inform and promptly.

Deasy  posted on  2009-06-05   23:36:02 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

I wouldn't ast those bastards, Deasy, I would ask you. I'm sure you would have something intelligent to say about it.

randge  posted on  2009-06-05   23:41:04 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

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