Obama to address Muslims in Egypt

[Douglas Carpenter]

Source: BBC

US President Barack Obama will give a long-awaited speech on US relations with the Muslim world on a visit to Egypt, the White House has announced.

He will travel to Egypt on 4 June and a day later arrive in Germany for a visit to Dresden and the site of the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald.

During his election campaign, Mr Obama promised to make a major speech on ties with Muslims early in his presidency.

Egypt arguably represented "the heart of the Arab world", a spokesman said.

In Turkey last month, the president declared that the US was not at war with Islam and he called for a greater partnership with the Muslim world.


Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8041226.stm

[Glorfindel]

1. And no matter what he says, he will be attacked savagely by the 'Pukes

n/t

[panzerfaust]

2. I hope his security is better than Busher's

We - the US - may not be at war with Islam, but Islam seems to think itself at war with us.

[Douglas Carpenter]

3. I happen to have spent close to half my life in the Islamic world

I have certainly never been anywhere in the whole world where I and other westerners I know have been treated with more respect, more kindness or certainly felt safer.

There is now more optimism about improved relations with America and hope that American might at least somewhat change some of its hostile attitude and some of its hostile polices toward the Arab and Islamic than I can remember.

President Obama has brought and inspired a great deal of good will. Of course, there is a great deal of watching and waiting to see if actions will match the rhetoric.

There are approximately 1.3 billion Muslims in the word and they are extremely diverse, from the very modern to what might be seen in rural Afghanistan, from the enlightened and liberal to the hardline fundamentalist.

There is nothing the vast overwhelming majority of the Arab and Islamic world would want more than a new relationship based on basic fairness and mutual respect.

[Posteritatis]

7. Which parts of said world, out of curiosity? (nt)

[Douglas Carpenter]

8. mostly in the Persian Gulf states

where of course I have met and worked with Arab and Muslim people from across the entire region.

[Lena inRI]

4. Nah, IMHO most Muslims are curiously awaiting. . .

. . .what President Obama will have to say because they figure he's the closest they have been or ever will be to an American leader who has experienced their culture firsthand as he did in Indonesia.

Even the radical fundamentalist are curious because Barack is "the MAN."

How our President speaks to them is crucial to securing peace in our lifetime by ending Muslim jihad and by starting to address any reform for the unbearable injustices suffered by fundamentalist Muslim women.

Best of luck for this pivotal speech, Mr. President!

:fistbump: :fistbump: :fistbump: :fistbump: :fistbump:

[audas]

6. Muslims are not idiots - they see straight through this type of GUFF...

I'm sorry I don't think so. The US has just wrapped up murdering over a million Muslims in Iraq, Obama is building the largest base ever constructed in Afghanistan (camp Leatherneck - "Hi George Clooney") getting ready to send out 60,000 troops with around 10-20,000 drones which are autonomous robotic attack planes to continue the fight against Muslims. Another hundred people were put in their grave yesterday, Iraq has become a seething hot bed of insurgency - AGAIN - Israel has just wrapped up one of the worst crimes against a civilian population ever witnessed - and it was MUSLIM - and Obama announces a speech and its all hail.



- you swap out your pres and its all roses and lollies in the streets. This is exactly the kind of myopic approach the last administration had. Liberals are meant to be open minded, that includes questioning our own agenda.

This is nothing more than a managed stage show - anyone who does not tow the line will get obliterated - and those that operate a fascist policy and implement American doctrine will get a speech, money and not obliterated.......nothing has changed people.

Let me also add -

talks with Syria are being conducted by

--- "Jeffrey Feltman, closely linked to Ariel Sharon and Karl Rove, is an associate of the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans that created the false evidence and "mushroom cloud" intelligence used to justify attacks on Iraq."

Well this seems appropriate in mending ties with Muslims.

[audas]

5. This is really bad !

Iran has launched a campaign to win the hearts and minds of Egypt as the succession falters for the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak son Gamal Mubarak,Egypt is the the US and Israels main ally in the region obviously Turkey and Saudi Arabia follow. This is NOT a muslim peace tour, this is NOT an extended hand this is a direct unabashed drive to push a wedge straight into the heart of middle eastern politics and Islam specifically. See it for what it is - a direct show of support for Israel and a direct challenge to Iran.

Sorry thats the truth of the matter. Egypt is a corrupt successive (inherited) regime which is about as corrupt as any country one earth you can name - Obama meeting with the leader is about one notch above Rumsfeld collaborating with Saddam Hussein.

I would have thought people would be a little more attune to this kind of thing, I am aware Americans are particularly ignorant on the middle east, but this is pretty dam clear.

Obama fully supports the following fascist states - Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt and Qatar - all of which are extreme examples of UNDEMOCRATIC, dictatorships which are generally ruled under Absolute Monarchy - he is not reaching out to Muslims, he is reaching out to fascist dictators to strengthen his fight against Iran - A fight America has been waging against Iran for 60 years because you lost control of the country and its oil and you want that back - pure and simple global politics 101.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/06/AR2009050603752.html

[Douglas Carpenter]

9. I think you have a very myopic and highly ideological understanding of the Middle East

The vast majority of Muslim people do appreciate President Obama's efforts to open lines of communications.

One of the unfortunate realities in much of the Middle East is that in most of the cases, the oppositions that could actually be capable of taking power in the immediate future are almost always far worse and far less democratic than those actually in power. Life under those regimes is neither as good as their apologist might claim, nor as bad as their detractors would claim, certainly no resemblance to what many in the West would imagine.

I have personally witnessed with my own eyes how much things have changed. Freedom has increased and consciousness has expanded more in the last twenty years than many regions took centuries to accomplish. We are seeing open criticism of the government and even the religious authorities in the newspapers and other media that would have been unimaginable twenty years ago. Women now comprise 50% of university students and are rapidly coming to almost dominate the professional class. The younger generations has an education and general knowledge about the broader world that would put most young Americans to shame. Still there is a long way to go, especially on human rights and rights of women. I applaud all the the great human rights organizations who are in the field and making a difference. President Obama's influence can very well make a difference as he helps diffuse the tensions that have caused many people to associate western values with draconian military power and unabashed bullying.

Politics involves the art of the possible. In the world of reality, one has deal with governments that actually do exist and oppositions that do actually exist - not the ones we wish existed in some fairy tale land of make believe.

[Aristus]

10. Anyway, it's "TOE the line", as in basketball. Not "tow" the line.

I'm just saying...

[ohio2007]

12. Persian shia win the hearts and minds of Egyptian Sunni Arabs ? Surely you jest

imo,
they are as different as dems vs repubs,
Hatfield's vs McCoys
Taste great vs Less filling


Iran doesn't have the fundamental re$ourses to reach out to change the minds of Egyptians and have them submit to the Persian way of thinking.


It's just the Third World Cold War perspective going on behind closed doors. Some call it racist,some call it religious bashing. I call it the reality of the middle east. Some doors will never be opened to change.

[ohio2007]

11. I thought Egypt was going to be the country in which to 'reach out to the clenched fists" of Islam

And imo, he may be willing to pull a "Jimmy Carter" moment on the president of Egypt and criticize him on his own human rights records.

If Mubarak wants to continue to get the yearly peace deal $ stipend worked out with Israel, he will allow more freedoms which will of course, see the risk of an uptick in violence in Egyptian democracy.
Don't want to see another "Anwar Sadat moment" but that is the risk Barack takes when addressing the world of Islam

I doubt Cairo will become the next Beirut but, its all being decided by the speech writers.