Muslims see shift in Obama speech, no breakthrough
Abbas spokesman says US president's Cairo speech a good start, but Hamas says statements 'did not include mechanism that can translate his wishes and views into actions'; Jakarta resident: President just trying to apologize to Muslims because of what America — or really Bush — has done in the past
Muslims around the world, including the Palestinian terror group Hamas, said President Barack Obama's outreach in a speech Thursday was a positive shift in US attitude but fell short of a breakthrough because it lacked concrete proposals to turn the words into action.
Obama touched on many themes Muslims wanted to hear. He insisted Palestinians must have a state and said continued Israeli settlement in the West Bank is not legitimate. He assured them the US would pull all it troops out of Iraq by 2012 and promised no permanent US presence in Afghanistan.
"There is a change between the speech of President Obama and previous speeches made by George Bush," said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza. But he complained that Obama did not specifically note the suffering in Gaza following the three-week Israeli incursion earlier this year and did not apologize for US military attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"So all we can say is that there is a difference in the statements, and the statements of today did not include a mechanism that can translate his wishes and views into actions," said Barhoum, whose group the US considers a terrorist organization.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Hamas rival, welcomed Obama's words.
"The part of Obama's speech regarding the Palestinian issue is an important step under new beginnings," his spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh said. "It shows there is a new and different American policy toward the Palestinian issue."
Hamas gunmen in Gaza tune in to Obama speech (Photo: AP)
The Shiite terrorist group Hizbullah in Lebanon did not comment. Hizbullah's representative in the Lebanese government, legislator Mohammed Fneish, said he didn't hear the speech.
In Iran, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a cleric who was vice president under reformist President Mohammad Khatami, called the speech "compensation to hostile environment which was created during President Bush."
"This can be an initial step for removing misconceptions between world of Islam and the West," he said.
Political commentator Ali Reza Khamesian said Obama's acknowledgment of Iran's right to produce nuclear energy for peaceful purposes was "a step forward for better ties with the United States."
Before the speech, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said any statements by Obama were just "words, speech and slogan" without specific measures by Washington, such as lifting sanctions on Iran.
The speech contained a mixed message for Israel. Obama strongly endorsed the US alliance with the Jewish state but harshly criticized its West Bank settlement policy.
The director of Israel's government press office, Danny Seaman, called Obama's speech "not bad."
"All in all, his attitude is one we certainly share as a democratic country. The state of Israel isn't against reconciliation ... We think we should be more cautious and it should be done in such a way that the extremists shouldn't take control," he said.
Obama, aiming to repair ties with the Muslim world that had been strained under his predecessor George W. Bush, struck a respectful tone. He opened with the traditional greeting in Arabic "Assalamu Alaikum," and listed many of the grievances of Muslims against the US and the West. He quoted several times from the Quran, the Islamic holy book, drawing applause from his audience at Cairo University.
Baghdad resident Mithwan Hussein called Obama "brave."
"I think it's a good start and we hope he will open a new chapter with Islamic world and Arab Nation in particular," he said.
But not everyone was impressed.
Wahyudin, the 57-year-old director of a hard-line Islamic boarding school in Jakarta, Indonesia, said "I don't trust him." He spoke as he watched the speech on television.
"He's just trying to apologize to Muslims because of what America — or really Bush — has done in the past," said Wahyudin, who goes by one name. "He's promising to be different. But that's all it is, a promise. We want action. We want to see an end to all intervention in Muslim countries. That's what we're fighting for."
In Pakistan, where the US believes many top al-Qaida leaders including Osama bin Laden may be hiding, citizens were generally skeptical that American deeds would match Obama's soaring words.
"Whatever wounds America has inflicted on the world, they are very deep and they cannot be erased away by only one speech," political analyst Siraj Wahab told Aaj TV. "Overall the speech was positive, but let's see whether it was merely good words or could we ever see these words be practiced."
Zahid Husain Gardezi, a 50-year-old landowner in the Pakistani city of Multan, seemed pleased at the gesture.
"It is the first time I have ever heard such affectionate words from an American for Muslims," he said. "Apparently we can expect America to try to befriend the Muslim world in deeds as well. But let's see how long it will take to see this on the ground."
