U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a
long anticipated speech on June 4, 2009 to the Muslim world during his
visit to Egypt in Cairo University in Cairo, capital of Egypt, which is
aimed at recovering U.S. relations with Muslim countries. (Xinhua/Zhang
Ning) Photo
Gallery>>>
by Xinhua writers Chen Gongzheng, Lin Liping
CAIRO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama
wrapped up Thursday afternoon his nine-hour visit to Cairo, where he delivered a
keynote speech aimed at a "new beginning" of relations with Muslims.
"I have come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning
between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual
interests and mutual respect," Obama said in his speech, which is attended by
more than a thousand audiences in the Conference Hall of Cairo University.
"This cycle of suspicion and discord must end," Obama
said, referring to the U.S.-Islam mistrust during the past eight years caused by
his predecessor George W. Bush's anti-terrorism campaign that raised hostility
in the Muslim world.
Obama said in addition to historical factors, the
sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization left many Muslims to view
the West as hostile to the Islam traditions, while a small minority of extremist
Muslims have left some Americans to view Islam as hostile.
Though determined to improve U.S. ties with the
Muslim world, Obama said "change cannot happen overnight" and that "no single
speech can eradicate years of mistrust."
He said in order to move forward a new U.S.-Islam
relationship, the two sides must open, listen to each other, to learn from each
other, respect each other and seek a "common ground."
"Partnership between America and Islam must be based
on what Islam is, not what it isn't," he said.
He pledged to shoulder the responsibility as U.S.
president to "fight against negative Islam stereotype wherever they appears,"
while also expressing hope that the Islamic world do not bear stereotype of the
United States.
Praising Islam's innovation and contribution to human
civilization, Obama referred to the U.S. links with Islam and his own Islam
background.
He said the United States has nearly seven million
Muslims, who have enriched the country.
"Let there be no doubt, Islam is a part of America,"
he stressed.
Obama is a Christian, while his father came from a
Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims, and he spent years of his
childhood in Indonesia, a Muslim country.
Meanwhile, Obama reiterated the U.S. support for the
two-state solution, which is in the interest of the world, urging the Israelis
to stop settlements and the Palestinians, particularly Hamas, to abandon
violence.
"The only resolution is for the aspirations of both
sides to be met, through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live
in peace and security," he said.
The solution, outlined in the Road Map plan and the
Saudi-proposed Arab Peace Initiative, has been snubbed by the right-leaning
Israeli government.
Obama told visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu on May 18 to freeze all settlement construction, including the
"natural growth" of existing ones. But the call fell on deaf ears of the hawkish
leader, who has never paid lip service to the two-state plan since taking office
in late March.
He managed to speak in a more balanced tone towards
the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"America's strong bond with Israel... is
unbreakable... it is based on cultural and historical ties," he said.
But he pressured Israel to halt the settlement
construction in occupied lands, which is the major obstacle for the renewal of
peace talks.
"The United States does not accept the legitimacy of
continued Israeli settlements," he said, adding that "it's time for these
settlements to stop."
Meanwhile, he said the Americans "will not turn their
backs" on the legitimate Palestinian state.
He urged Hamas, the militant group which controls the
Gaza Strip, to "put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, recognize
Israel's right to exist."
"The Arab states must recognize the Arab Peace
Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their
responsibilities."
The initiative, which embodies the two-state
guideline, was proposed by Saudi Arabia and adopted in the Arab summit held in
Beirut in 2002. It offers the Arab acceptance of the Jewish state in exchange
for an independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders.
The president also touched on Iran's nuclear
ambitions, reiterated that the United States is willing to move forward with
Iran without any precondition.
"This issue has been a source of tension between the
United States and Islamic Republic of Iran," he said, referring to Iran's
controversial nuclear program, which accused by the West of trying to make a
bomb.
"Any nation, including Iran, should have the right to
access peaceful nuclear power, if it complies with the responsibilities of the
nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty," he said, adding that "I am hopeful that all
countries in the region can share in this goal."
Since he took office in January, Obama has made
several overtures to Iran, calling for a "new beginning" of engagement with the
Islamic Republic, which snubbed the overture in public and asked for more
substantial changes of U.S. policies.
Obama has said soon after assuming the presidency
that reducing spread of nuclear weapons in the world is a top priority for his
administration.
It is suspected that Israel, with the U.S. aid and a
large number of West-educated experts, has its own nuclear arsenal or at least
the know-how.
"Americans seek a world in which no nations hold
nuclear weapons," said Obama, who was hailed by the audience.
Earlier in the morning, Obama held talks with his
Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak at the Quba Palace soon after landing.
Obama said at a press briefing that they discussed a
wide range of issues, including the situation of the Israelis and Palestinians
and how to bring about peace and prosperity to the region in a constructive way.
Later he paid a visit to the Sultan Hassan Mosque
together with his top diplomat Hillary Clinton, who wore a headscarf.
Built in 14th century and featured on the Egyptian
one hundred pound banknote, the mosque is considered the most compact and
unified masterpiece of all Cairo monuments.
After the speech, Obama toured the Great Pyramids of
Giza under the guide of Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme
Council of Antiquities.
Obama's Cairo visit is also part of a Mideast-Europe
tour which will also take him to Germany and France.
CAIRO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's
speech to the Muslim World in Cairo on Thursday heralds a new chapter in the
relations between the United States and the Muslim world, said analysts.
Full story
GAZA, June 4
(Xinhua) -- Following the historic speech of U.S. President Barack Obama made in
Cairo on Thursday, Palestinian analysts said they are waiting for Obama's action
but not the words.
"I like his speech, and the man is a good speaker and
well-educated, mainly when he spoke about cultures, civilizations, history and
religions, it shows that he has a very good knowledge about the Muslims and the
Arabs," said Talal Oukal, a Palestinian political analyst of al-Aqsa university
in Gaza. Full story
JERUSALEM, June 4
(Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister's Office expressed hope on Thursday that U.S.
President Barack Obama's speech would help lead to reconciliation between Israel
and the Muslim world, hours after the eye-catching speech delivered in Cairo.
"The government of Israel expresses hope that President
Obama's important speech will lead to a new period of reconciliation between the
Arab and Muslim world, and Israel," said the office in a statement. Full story
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a
long anticipated speech on June 4, 2009 to the Muslim world during his
visit to Egypt in Cairo University in Cairo, capital of Egypt, which is
aimed at recovering U.S. relations with Muslim countries. (Xinhua/Zhang
Ning) Photo
Gallery>>>
CAIRO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack
Obama's much-anticipated keynote speech on Thursday noon in Cairo University won
a storm of applause.
His speech, which comes as a fresh attempt to reach
out to Muslims to rebuild U.S. credibility in the Muslim world, was hailed by
thousands of listeners in the Conference Hall of the university. Full story
RAMALLAH, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian National
Authority(PNA) on Thursday said U.S. President Barack Obama's speech was the
first and basic step to establish a just peace in the region.
Obama's remarks about the Palestinian people's
suffering and his emphasis that they should have a statehood "was the first
basic and key to build a comprehensive and just peace in the region," said Nabil
Abu Rdineh, spokesman for the Palestinian presidency. Full story
GAZA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Hamas movement
on Thursday said U.S. President Barack Obama's speech reflected a change in
diplomatic approach different from that of his predecessor George Bush's.
"It is full of courtesies and depends on soft
diplomacy," Hamas spokesman Fawiz Barhoum said. Full story
GAZA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinians hope that
U.S. President Barack Obama will emphasize his calls on Israel to stop
settlement activities in the West Bank and commit to the creation of the
long-awaited Palestinian statehood during his visit to the Arab world.
The Palestinians were relatively optimistic about the
new U.S. administration as they awaited Obama's speech to the Muslim world in
Cairo on Thursday. Full story
GAZA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of Palestinian
children demonstrated at Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt
Thursday, urging President Barack Obama to press Israel to lift a two-year-old
blockade on the enclave.
Hamas authorities allowed the children to reach the
Egyptian gate of the terminal shortly before Obama started delivering a speech
to the Muslim world from Cairo. Full story
CAIRO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama
is scheduled to deliver a speech to the Muslim world in Cairo University on
Thursday, following are some key quotations of Obama on Muslim since taking
office in January. Full story
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed
Abul-Gheit (front L) welcomes U.S. President Barack Obama (front R) at the
airport in Cairo, Egypt, June 4, 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama arrived
Thursday morning in Cairo, where he will hold talks with his Egyptian
counterpart Hosni Mubarak and deliver a speech to the Muslim world in
Cairo University.(Xinhua Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
CAIRO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama
arrived Thursday morning in Cairo, where he will hold talks with his Egyptian
counterpart Hosni Mubarak and deliver a much-anticipated speech to the Muslim
world in Cairo University.
Obama stepped out of the Air Force One and down the
ramp quickly, waving hands to the crowds welcoming him. Full story
CAIRO, June 3
(Xinhua) -- Millions of Muslims around the world are skeptical that U.S.
President Barack Obama's highly anticipated speech Thursday from Cairo will do
much to change U.S. foreign policy, but to Americans living in Egypt, the speech
holds the potential of hope and change.
"For me, Obama embodies a lot of the ideals I hold. I
still have that idealism that pops in every now and then and I realize that it
won't be in this term or maybe even this administration that so much progress
will happen, but I do believe that the tide is turning in a new direction," said
Jessica Desvarieux, a freelance journalist who has been living in Cairo for a
year. Full story
CAIRO, June 3 (Xinhua)
-- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Cairo Wednesday evening,
on the eve of the much-anticipated keynote speech of U.S. President Barack Obama
on Thursday, Cairo airport officials said.
Obama's Cairo speech is expected to give another push
to the image of the United States, which has improved relatively in the whole
world compared with that during the administration of former U.S. President
George W. Bush. Full story
CAIRO, June 3 (Xinhua) --
Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden said in a latest tape broadcasted on Wednesday by
pan-Arab TV channel al-Jazeera that U.S. President Barack Obama will follow the
steps of his predecessor George W. Bush.
"He (Obama) has chosen to follow the steps of his
predecessor in hostility against Muslims," bin Laden said in the tape, which was
broadcast shortly following Obama's arrival in the Saudi capital of Riyadh for a
visit to Saudi Arabia. Full story
RIYADH, June 3
(Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a summit with Saudi king
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz shortly after his arrival in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday,
the Al-Arabiya TV channel reported.
Obama arrived in Saudi capital Riyadh at 2:25 p.m.
(1125 GMT). King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and top Saudi officials met him at the
King Khaled International Airport.Full story
CAIRO, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Beside the landmark
Conference Hall of Cairo University, where Obama is scheduled to deliver his
speech to the Muslim world on June 4, sat three students who were cramming for
their coming exams and talking about Obama's visit to Egypt.
"I want to invite Barack Obama for a fish meal at my home
near Kanater(in north Cairo)," said Ahmed Darwish, an 18-year-old student at the
faculty of law. Full story
CAIRO, June 1 (Xinhua) --
In Dar Es-Salaam, one of the most populous districts in Cairo, Ahmed sat with
his friends in a smallcafe talking about the upcoming visit of U.S. President
Barack Obama.
"Cairo is really lucky to welcome Obama as I think he is
capable of changing the tarnished image of his predecessor," said Ahmed, 27, who
works as a teacher in a primary school. Full story
