EGYPT: Mixed feelings among Arabs about Obama's victory

The victory of Barak Obama has elicited cautious optimism in the Arab world, as comments posted by readers on the websites of major Arab news websites have shown.

On the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya website, Abu Khaled wrote:

“Whether it is Obama or McCain, the US foreign policy is formulated in advance. Their unjust policy vis-à-vis Arabs and Muslims and their bias to Israel and their greed will not change. What Bush did to Arabs and Muslims, although we thought he would be more moderate than his democratic contender back then, shook our confidence in everyone. Although we prefer Obama, we should not be very optimistic."

Bakri Mohamed wrote on the Qatar-based al-Jazeera website:

“We should not be relying on others to bring change; we should pursue change to the better by ourselves. As to Obama’s victory, I don’t think it will change much in terms of US foreign policy. Anyway, congratulations to Obama.”

Respondent Essam Zayed agreed with him, saying:

“The optimism about Obama’s victory sounds strange. The US policies are usually put by the Congress and not the president. In the US, the president just implements these policies. We just hope that Obama would be more moderate than the dustbin of history called Bush.”

The U.S, elections were covered intensively by Arab media. The region was watching very closely, hoping that the Republican rule would be brought to an end with Obama’s victory. On the Qatar-based  al-Jazeera website, Mohamed Youssef wrote:

“Congratulations to the American people and to all African Americans and to all Africans in general and to all advocates of civil rights. Let Bush and his associates and supporters and McCain go to the dustbin of history.”

Despite others' skepticism, some Arabs are pinning their hopes on the new Democratic president to pressure their regimes to move toward genuine democratization. On al-Jazeera's website, Mai Shadid wrote:

"The change that will sweep US politics and its future identity will not stop at US borders but it will also be exported to the outside and will definitely reach the Arab region which has been tightly closed to all currents of democracy and political and economic reforms. It was the alliance between subsequent US administrations and the [Arab] oppressive and corrupt regimes that prevented the exportation of change to this region. Now we have an American administration that wants to save itself and learn from the mistakes of its predecessors in order to save its country and people.”

—Noha El-Hennawy in Cairo

Photo: Barack Obama. Credit: Stan Honda / AFP / Getty Images

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Comments

[Fawziah Qadir]

Barack Obama represents the unification of ALL AMERICANS, which includes Muslims, Christians, Jews, Native Americans, Arab Americans, African Americans, White Americans, Latino Americans and Asian Americans. He is a catalyst for change and I have faith in him and his ability to bring about much need reform in US Borders and throughout the world. As a Muslim, Arab-Latina American (with dark skin) I know that there are many of us who are weary and skeptical of US foreign policy in the Middle East but Obama is not the his predecessors; all 43 of them being White-American males; he is African (Kenyan) - American with an tangible understanding of international concerns. I think change will come to the Middle East; a change that will better us because it is DUE TIME. However Muslims and Arabs must make a collective and unified stand to preach how tolerant we actually are, the crimes of Israel can no longer go unnoticed without action being taken. They must no longer remain on the coattails of American favoritism; they have perpetrated massive human rights violations and are doing what was similarly done to Jews under Nazi Germany. I do not advocate war or violence but effective changes need to be made for the Palestinian people, how can we expect change if we do not engage ourselves and unite for a common purpose. We need to strive for peace and give recognition to the injustice done to Muslims and Arabs all over the world by our own people. United we stand, divided we fall! Congratulations President Barack Hussein Obama (and he is NOT a terrorist, that was quite ignorant)!!!

[thom]

this story is as wrong as Walter Lippman's opinion that FDR would just be a feather duster.

Whoever composed it selected comments from websites with hundreds perhaps thousands of entries, to reinforce their own personal conclusion.

it's worth less than nothing and any editor who printed it or posted it was obviously incompetent or so overworked that they didn't have time to find something worth our time.

Go interview Professor Diamond, now he I would like to hear from.

[Reginald]

Now that a good majority of Americans have awaken from a deep nightmare; we must keep our eyes open and always hold Mr. Obama as well as others to come accountable for complete misuse and fraudualent acts that don't put the advancement of the United States and its people first. Congratulations President Obama!

[obomba muhammed]

HE IS A TERRORIST