Added: Friday, 19 June 2009, 07:03 AM Mecca time, 04:03 AM GMT
Justice, Shenzhen, China
Well said. Like you I am waiting for that Christian, Hindu, Buhdist, or Jewish bomber to go into his own faiths house of worship and blow up innocents. Muslims are right to claim a relationship to some nations polocies/actions but they fail to recognize that unlike any other faith based group they often first resort to violence. The sad fact is Islamic scripture often gives or is perceived to give permission to use force. In addition, they fail to recognize the power of peacuful protest such as Ghandi. The Iranian opposition, on the other hand, does seem to have figured this out. Instead of resorting to violence they are altering the dynamic of their government by peacufully protesting to be heard. Hopefully Muslims throught out the world will pick up on this. We in the rest of the world, especially in the West, in turn need to atone for our errors such as Iraq, supporting dictators like Mubarak, and corporate greed.
wilbur , chicag0, United States
Added: Thursday, 18 June 2009, 10:20 PM Mecca time, 07:20 PM GMT
While Obama's speech was conciliatory and even bold and somewhat risky, the situation regarding Israel, the so-called occupied territories and their inhabitants, and the continued expansion of Israeli settlements will lessen the speech's impact until the consequence in hearers' minds will be "status quo, no change." Unless the US pulls the plug on its helping to finance Israeli territorial expansion and maintaining the current situation of one state while maintaining de facto hegemony over primarily Palestinians' areas any American president's words will be taken by their people and sympathisers as simply more politically-motivated hot air.
Jim H., United States
Added: Thursday, 18 June 2009, 08:00 PM Mecca time, 05:00 PM GMT
Barack Obama has to reverse Bushes legacy on stereo typing Islam and Muslims as “axes of evil”. During his campaign he had to repeat several times that he is not a Muslim as if it was a problem for the American society to be a Muslim.
Humility means we all have to learn from one another and Americans should be ready to learn from Islam and the Muslims as well as from the Hindus or the Buddhists.
The facts on the ground in the Arab and Muslim world, exacerbated by the brutality of the war in Gaza, Netanyahu's post-Obama-meeting rejection of a total freeze on settlements and support for settlement expansion will be seen "as same old, same old."
Obama's new paradigm, to demonstrate that when it comes to American foreign policy in the Arab and Muslim world, he is ready to walk the way he talks.
Subeiga , Pretoria, South Africa
Added: Thursday, 18 June 2009, 07:30 PM Mecca time, 04:30 PM GMT
I personally think that the speech could help against "islamophobia" that slipped into many western countries, but as a policy speech it lacked substance and it's sad that the US acts as if its hands are tied, while it does all the trouble in this region... We Muslims don't hate America we simply don't like being branded as a mythical enemy for corporate-strategic greed that runs America.
Obama reminds me of Carter... lots of words and factual ones too, but when he had the chance he wasted it with talk and peace that benefited only one side.(Israel's side)
Soldior, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Added: Thursday, 18 June 2009, 02:54 PM Mecca time, 11:54 AM GMT
David, US:) I agree with your intellegent prospective about the shared right to land (Historical by Hebrews against Beneficial use by Arabs rights). It is a fact that Jews in ME lived in freedom, respected and contributed to progress not like in Europe. Take Egypt for example: Jews owned big department stores, textile factories, farm lands, vinyards, and primed in professional field (medical, eng., political, etc.). After the infamous 1956 War, Naser confiscated their wealth and "pushed" the majority of them out to Israel. They were never imprisoned like US did to Japanese during WWII. Uncompromising Zionism has radicalized and hardened Arab masses against jews.
Aladdin, United States
Added: Thursday, 18 June 2009, 09:02 AM Mecca time, 06:02 AM GMT
Obama's predecessors raised the bar so low when it came to to ME peace. In fact, what ever little he does to kick off a new initiative would seem like a huge deal. and it is a huge deal! thus far he has had the courage and bravery to say what no american president ever said to the israelis (stop illegal construction of settlements). what would realy distinguish Obama from the rest of the herd would be based on his next move. What kind of pressure (deplomatic/economic sanctions) will he be willing to put on the Israeli government.
jawad el issa, waterloo, Canada
Added: Thursday, 18 June 2009, 07:15 AM Mecca time, 04:15 AM GMT
Obama portrayed himself as the peace candidate.
He is not stopping any wars. True, he promised military escalation in Afghanistan. People believed he would genuinely move to end the occupation of Iraq and seriously try to negotiate with the Taliban. Instead, he has not only increased the number of troops and attacks against the Afghan insurgency, he has also expanded the cross-border raids into Pakistan, which have killed many civilians. The way things are going, Pakistan could become the new Cambodia and Obama the new Nixon.
In Iraq, Obama has promised to withdraw all the troops . . . unless, which means the US is not leaving. Whether it’s 50,000 troops remaining at the “invitation” of the so-called government of Iraq, or just enough to man the 14 permanent military bases, or some combination of U.S. military personnel and private mercenaries that exceeds 50,000 soldiers, the US army will almost certainly stay in Iraq past the stated deadline of Jan. 1, 2012.
Gim, Aden, Yemen
Added: Thursday, 18 June 2009, 04:06 AM Mecca time, 01:06 AM GMT
Didn't Israel win a war that was started by Arab states, and this is how they got the land?
Lesson learned: Don't mess with Israel!
VanillaCzar, New Orleans, United States
Added: Thursday, 18 June 2009, 01:22 AM Mecca time, 10:22 PM GMT
President Obama’s intention is good. And if the past offers some inspirations to move forward or some lessons to learn, we should take them with us for the present and for the future. Otherwise leave them behind forever. Obama might have gone through this. And he seems to be in the White House to remove some black spots from the minds of people at home and abroad. Optimism is the essence of his speech. Lincoln once told he had destroyed his enemies by making them friends. And his bold step helped eradicate slavery. Of course any outcome is not expected overnight. In politics, political opportunism is dangerous. Even if he and his like minded are sincerely on the move towards peace and tranquility, the hardliners from every part of the world await chances of their wrong steps .Religious interferences some times deviate the process of a good proposal or come as stumbling blocks. People who are committed to the peace initiatives must be brave to take up all such challenges.
Prem Nizar Hameed, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Added: Thursday, 18 June 2009, 01:01 AM Mecca time, 10:01 PM GMT
tamon: baby steps are not necessarily the order of the day. the bush-obama transition was a giant step. the fall of the soviets was a giant step. the recent election turmoil in iran is quite possibly another giant step. i have always promoted the view that reducing foreign pressures on iran would lead to the rise of internal forces for democratisation. i didn't expect it to happen so soon and so suddenly, but it seems like we are on the brink of getting rid of this awful dictator ahmadinejad and perhaps also khamenei himself.
now, respecting other nations and avoiding conflict and meddling is not 'capitulation'. that you couch it in those terms reflects an internal problem within the political discourse in the US, and the sorry state of progressives there. sure it affects us, but it is your problem not ours in the sense that YOU need to resolve it, not us. that is what i meant. of course we all affect each other. carter lost to reagan because of iran.
