Obama’s Promise

The speech of US President Barack Obama at the Cairo University has raised the hopes of the Muslim world for peaceful relations with the Western world. At Egypt, Obama made the second stop of a four-nation trip to the Middle East and Europe. But the hope Obama has talked about has been taken with a pinch of salt by the Muslim world, which is not clear whether the steps of the US administration will match Obama’s words and promises.

The fact that the President quoted from the Holy Quran lent credence to what he stated as his aspirations and his country’s policy objectives. Obama called for a “new beginning between the United States and Muslims� and urged that together they could confront extremism across the globe and inch towards peace in the Middle East.

The US President was right in saying that the “cycle of suspicion and discord must end�. Obama admitted that tension between the West and the Muslim world “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�.

Obama was very good at making a point. He said he considered his responsibility to “fight against negative stereotypes of Islam� and that “just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire�. Obama showed the US willingness of mending relations with Iran by saying that Iran had the right to have civilian nuclear energy. He also pointed towards a two-state solution of the Middle East conflict by saying that “Hamas must ... recognise Israel’s right to exist,� and that “Israelis must acknowledge that …just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine.� He also said in clear terms that the “US does not accept ... Israeli settlements� on the West Bank and outskirts of Jerusalem. While his statement that “Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism ... it is an important part of promoting peace,� and similar commitments about Palestine and Iran should be appreciated it is not clear how he will be able to “secure and lasting home for Jews ... Christians and Muslims�.

Obama’s speech is a positive reflection of what the first ever US President of African origin, having close association with Islam from his father’s side, thinks about the two realities of today — Islam and the West. There is no denying Obama’s resolve of bringing a “change� since he became the first black US President, but his passion for peace and reconciliation seems to have meant little to the hawkish elements in his administration. Obama acknowledged in his speech that the change he and other peace-loving people espouse cannot be brought about overnight. That is true. But there should be some clear signs of a reversal of previous policies. Guantanamo Bay, for instance, has not been closed down yet and Israel’s expansionist designs continue to guide its foreign policy.

The US did not accept the legitimate government of Hamas with open heart. That notwithstanding, Obama’s realization about the issues confronting the Muslim world in order to address and resolve these problems offer a ray of hope for the optimists. The issues such as Israel’s nuclear stockpile and its settlements in the West Bank and Gaza have implications for the whole world. If Obama is able to change the course of US administrations’ policies towards the Middle East and the Muslim world, he will be remembered as a seasoned statesman.