Obama in the Muslim world: Reaction to the president's speech

President Obama spoke to the Muslim world today from Cairo University in Egypt. Read what others thought of his speech and then tell us what you think. 

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Faysal Bazzi, 59, is a Shiite Muslim who owns a mini-market near the old Green Line that divided Christian East Beirut from Muslim West Beirut during Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war.

"Any American speech to the Muslim and Arab world should consider the Palestinian issue the central issue."   

"The American administration has to understand the hardships we live because of the Israeli occupation, so the three most important things he should have talked about were dictatorships in the region, the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian right to resist."

"We have nothing against the American people, but we are against America because it supports Israel, so we hope Obama will change the future policies of the United States."

"I'm from a village in south Lebanon, and almost everyone has emigrated because Israel destroyed it --  they killed us and destroyed everything. Obama has asked for change -- well, you can't have partial change without comprehensive change, and change in America will have effects abroad."

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Ayman Taha, a Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip.
 
"Speaking about a policy of pursuing a war against extremism and working towards two states for peoples on Palestinian lands is no different than the policy of his predecessor, George W. Bush."

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Nabil abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

"The part of Obama's speech regarding the Palestinian issue is an important step. This is the beginning of a new American policy, and this policy is creating a new atmosphere to build the Palestinian state."

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Mohammed Ali Jassim, 55, owner of a clothing shop in east Baghdad.
 
"It was great to hear that the Americans will leave Iraq to the Iraqis. And that Iraq will be a partner and independent."

"His speech gave the impression that there will be a new policy for America toward the Muslim world." 

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Ahmed Mustafa, 23, college student, Baghdad.
 
"I like what he talked about ... but during his speech, he pretended as if he had the magic key when he talked about unemployment in the world and some other problems."
 
"But he didn’t apologize for the many mistakes American troops made in Iraq and Afghanistan."
 
"It was not that necessary to mention the 6 millions Jews victims [in the Holocaust] … but he didn’t mention the Palestinian victims."

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Sadegh Zibakalam, an Iranian analyst.

"For the first time I saw a U.S. leader who was balanced and showed that he is caring for the rights of the Palestinian people." 

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Daniel Hershkowitz, Israeli science and technology minister, commented on Obama's speech during a tour of the settlements of Mt. Hebron, from Ynet news site.

"In his speech, Obama ignored that fact that Palestinians are yet to renounce the path of terror. The Israeli government is not a burden on the American administration. Our relations with the Americans are based on friendship and not on surrender. With regards to natural growth in the settlements we must tell the Americans -- no more."

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Statement from the settlers council carried by Israel Radio.

"The state of Israel is paying the price of its leaders' defeatism. Hussein Obama preferred the false version of the Arabs over the Jewish truth, spoken in a weak and stammering voice."

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Headline that ran with the full text of Obama's speech on the Yesha Council website.

"Never has so much hoopla been made before, during and after a speech which said nothing new."

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Peace Now statement carried by Israel Radio.
 
"Israel must say 'Yes' to Obama, stop the settlements and advance the two-state vision. President Obama has the ability to serve as an honest broker and advance Israel towards the solution of the conflict with the Arab world."

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Minister for Minority Affairs Avishai Braverman (Labor Party), from news site Ynet.

"President Obama rightly said that the shared enemy of the entire world was extremism, and ruled that finding the common denominator was the solution for eradicating this phenomenon. We in Israel must adopt this approach in the Israeli society -- Jews and Arabs, seculars and religious -- and certainly place it in the face of the Palestinian society. Two states for two people is the solution we are committed to."

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Aryeh Eldad, Israeli parliament member from the National Union party, in a statement carried by Israel Radio.
 
"President Obama drew a shocking parallel between the elimination of Europe's Jews and the suffering that the Arabs of Israel brought upon themselves when they declared war against Israel."

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Michael Fayek, 27, a Christian and recent university graduate of Cairo's Ain Shams University.

"The fact that he talks about tolerance, and cited verses from the Koran and the Bible, makes me feel he is aware how people think."

"I admired very much the suggestion that Jews, Christians and Muslims should live together in peace."
 
"The one part I was most impressed by, is that he really supports tolerance."

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Bulent Goksel, a seller of "simit," a bagel-like Turkish roll, got a friend to watch his cart for a few moments so he could dart into a nearby shop and watch a few minutes of the speech.

"We in Turkey have got a really positive sense of this man," he said. "Especially compared to the previous president!"

* * *

Professor Avraham Ben-Zvi, expert on American-Israeli relations, University of Haifa, on Israel Radio.

"The speech was disappointing, addressing too many issues. When such high expectations are built up, one expects a founding declaration, a central thesis. This was more of a mixed salad. It touched many issues -- although elegantly, but lacked a central thesis."

"The first part bordered on flattery, apologetics for all the 'white man's sins.' The apology was too sweeping, too long."

"Where Israel is concerned, there was a strict symmetry. Israel is not a single, favored son."

"The speech underwent polishing, retouching and tens of speechwriters. But in the end, it contained many trees but very little forest …he tried too hard."

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Zalman Shoval, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. (and currently senior aide/advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu), on Israel Radio.

"The speech was very politically correct. It was not surprising, and there was no reason for the panic that may have arisen here or there in Israel."

"In fact, he spoke somewhat like a preacher … about what he would like to see in the idyllic world he hopes for, mostly on Islam. One can argue about the chances of this world existing or not."

"Israeli governments do not make decisions based on the speeches of American statesmen but on its own considerations of what is good for it or not."

"There is need for an active Israeli diplomacy -- proactive, even -- to avoid reaching unnecessary confrontations."

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Israeli parliament member Haim Oron, chairman of the Meretz party, from a circulated statement, this one from the news site Ynet.

"The speech was characterized by inspiration, optimism and great momentum that appeared to have vanished from the area. The U.S. President's speech was a lesson in conciliatory enlightenment, moderation and great hopes."

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Motti Yogev, retired brigadier general and a member of the Binyamin regional council of settler communities, speaking from the settlement of Beit El, on TV Channel 1.

"I am glad that he referred to Jewish sources, as these are the same sources that teach that the Land of Israel belongs to the People of Israel and that it is the right of the Jews to live in all parts of it. Just as he stated that the State of Israel was not going to disappear, neither is the half-million strong Jewish settlement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem."

"We must not make light of the importance of strategic agreements to Israel's security. But we are not the 51st star on the American flag, and the Jewish settlement in the West Bank will continue in all its glory, as it is our return to the Land of Israel and indeed the security of Tel Aviv."

Photo: Women watch the Obama's speech in a spice shop in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon. Credit: Mohammed Zaatari / Associated Press

Comments

[Free Thinker]

Just abolish religions and everything will fine!

the Jews will have no execuse to immigrate to Palestine,
Bin Laden will have no execuse to kill anyone,
Taliban will stop trying to undermine Pakistan,
Israel will stop killing people in Gaza strip,
The Palestinians will stop lobing home made missiles into Sderot,
Iran will not be rulled by fanatics,
Hizbollah will not exist by definition,
etc...

all the world problems -or most of them- will be solved...

[Free Thinker]

Israel has to choose between having peace with it's neighbors without the settlements, or keeping the settlements, and one day, the Arabs will be strong enough to retake what was taken in 1967 war, and maybe more...

Extemist jews are no better than extremist moslems; they blew up the king david hotel in jerusalem in 1946, and killed the UN mediator Bernadotte in 1947 for example to achieve their national goals! it is just because their interest is with the west right now that we don't see a jewish Al-Qaeda!

It doesn't make sense to me that an American immigrant, has the right to go to the West Bank, and steal the land of a Palestinian farmer whose ancestors owned that land for hundreds of years, just because he has a "book" that tell him he could do so! if that's the case, then we -as moslems- should also refer to our "book" and will enevtually be a blood bath!! be reasonable and logical, not supersticious...

[to Victoria]

Stop the lies! Those crowds were not paid and you know it. As a world traveler I know for a fact that our worldwide reputation suffered greatly under the disasterous past administration. President Obama has restored that reputation in just a short time. Deception will not fool anyone.

[Joni]

Many of the comments seem quite simple-minded! Why is President Obama in the Middle east? Diplomacy...look it up!Peace is where it's at...thankfully we have a president aware of that!

[to all the racists]

HA-HA! The "evil-doers" no longer are in power to torture detainees , wreck havoc on our financial institutions and create dissonance around the world. Our new president will fix the deliberate destruction the past administration perpetrated upon us. Thank you Mr. President. Most Americans support you!

[Joanne]

President Obama is intelligent, thoughtful and insightful. The president's speech was the same. He believes in justice, democracy and equality. It's nice having a president who can deliver a speech of such high quality.To answer the question concerning his middle east speechmaking when domestically we're in such despair; someone started an illegal war overthere and this administration needs to clean up that mess as well as the mess left in our own great country.

[jb]

Come on, Folks! You recognize this message, don't you. This is the same old post-colonial caca from Africa (and Stokley Carmichal) that Barrie read about in trying to understand who he was and who he came from. This is 60-year old apologetic rhetoric which highlights the victim status of former colonials and justifies atrocities they commit againest infidels AND each other.
I just wonder what the hell he's doing giving speeches around the world when we have a lot of work to do here at home?

[DAVE PHILLIPS]

SOMEWHERE - HOPEFULLY - a scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations [New York City] or an astute campus columnist for 'The Times [of LA]' SHOULD BE ALREADY AT WORK comparing, then contrasting the President's remarks with the Middle East 'road-map to peace' published last year by former President JIMMY CARTER in his latest book. Mr. Carter's own diplomatic experience right now exceeds the Executive Branch staff in that field multi-fold! As this is written, former President Carter is part of a 50+ person delegation from The Carter Center at Emory University (Atlanta, GA) volunteering as invited guests in Lebanon to watch polling practices for their VERY IMPORTANT Lebanon parliamentary elections - one quite significant step toward peace - in our lifetimes - for that region.

[jimmy vaughan]

America has released an idiot onto the world. I for one send to the, WORLD AN APOLOGY FOR THIS IDIOT.
PLEASE ,IF THAT PART OF THE WORLD WANTS THIS IDIOT YOU CAN HAVE HIM!!
GOD HELP US !!!!!!!!

[bills]

The young people hold the key for the success of any peace in the nation and Obama rightly pointed it out in his address. Full stem for Obama's efforts to bring harmony.

[Superpower]

What's there to say, the boy king has rallied his Muslim troops.

[Victoria]

Politically correctedness avails to GROUND ZERO. When Obama bowed down to the Saudi King, he made himself and the country he supposedly represents a slave to the Muslim world and religion, which believes there is no room for any other religion, and expresses non-stop hatred towards Israel. As an American living overseas, Obama doesn't represent me, thankfully. In France where I live and where he is coming this weekend, he impresses no one. Crowds that have gathered around this man have been hired. The US, being so far away and from so many nations, has no idea, sadly, of how it's being portrayed in the rest of the world. We were shocked when Obama bowed to the ground to the Saudi King. He now boasts of his family's Muslim past. It's only a matter of time before he embraces Islam openly, and comes out of the closet. He will blame the pressure the American people have put upon him in making this decision. I do not believe he is a friend of Israel either. Open your eyes America, you haven't hit bottom yet.

[Luis garcia]

With all my respect for Mr Obama, he must study a lot yet. Go back to school, and study the history of España again or for the first time. We fought for 8th centuries Islam, and so far (from Lepanto to Marrocco, i.e.). Islam is submission or death, no peace and love, and we know it genetically. Al andalus is a dream, and never was happy. People was killed, stolen or submissed. Why do not you recreate Al Andalus in Whasington?
In a short time, Mr Z_apatero will be the President of UE, and With Mr O_bama, we all will live at OZ World.

[Don]

Obama speaks very well but is also very naive when it comes to foreign policy and supporting allies.
His speech is more like a high school pep rally as it insults the intelligence of Americans. The last time we had a president (GWB) quoting verses from a religious book we used religion to support US foreign policy.
Let's leave religion out of the foreign policy process and hold countries in the ME responsible for driving a lasting peace agreement and stick with our allies.
All ME countries need to stop blaming the USA and start talking to their neighbors.

[HRYKU]

As someone who has lived in four different countries and traveled throughout the Middle East, reading the fallacies and the misconceptions, the stereotypical rants in the comments on here was a great laugh.

The comedy just writes itself.

If any of those little minded posters actually knew how ridiculous their comments were, they'd shrivel and hide under a rock.

Oh and by the way, speaking of oppressed minorities, Israel has been oppressing 3 million non-Jews for 60 years now, never mind the way Europe has treated immigrants in the last two decades, or the US's treatment of blacks just 3 decades ago.

The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on folly (Matthew 15:14).

[bobojake]

Americans don't appreciate the lies of obama in trying to TELL TO rewite history.
The Iraq war was after 17 United nations Resolutions and had unamious support from the American people to free Iraq Muslems from the murder oF Sadam Husseinm(obama it was not a choice idiot).
obama your foney community organizing methods sure cleaned up the corruption, crime , poverty and government dole in Chicago. Get off your community organizing or go back to Chicago and schedule pickup basketball games.
obama you are and incompetent foney LIAR and we Americans don't appreciate the RaPE OF THE taxpayers AND THE lies AND THUGS YOU HAVE IN YOUR ADMINSTRATION. defund acorn noW THE CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION.

[Xenu]

Great oration must be matched by great deeds. Obama must do more than just dress up in pretty words the misguided policies and fascist monarchist imperialist agenda of the Bush Regime.

[John]

Now, is there a muslim apology for the ethnic cleansing of Christians in the middle east that has been happening for the last decade or two? Crickets....

[Raj Kiran]

Obama's speech was a lot of hot air and filled with half-truths. He did not talk about how minorities are being treated unfairly and even killed for their beliefs in moslem dominated countries. He talked about how unfairly the moslems were treated when their countries were colonized but he conveniently left out how Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs were mistreated and murdered under moslem rule. Mr. Obama please do not bend backwards to appease a section of the international community. Mr Obama please read history thoroughly and completely before you give a 'kiss ass' speech.

[Phil]

After reading some of the post on this page, I am convinced that the United States real problem may be the low level of intellect and education amoung too many Americans. The "soccer mom run" education system may actually be hurting the national security potential of this nation. It is extremely frightening...