In a long-awaited speech at Cairo University, Obama touched on his own Muslim roots. He said Muslims have made a great contribution to the United States, and ``whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it.''
Obama said there must be universal religious freedom, and that the two cultures ``need not be in competition.''
He also said the Muslim world must not fear globalization and things modern in the world, saying that ``there need not be conflict between development and tradition.''
MIDEAST
Obama says the Israelis and Palestinians must find a way to live side by side, peacefully as two independent states, arguing that this solution ultimately is the only way to end bloodshed and violence.
Obama recognized the long U.S. alliance with Israel, calling the bond ``unbreakable.'' But he also said ``the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable.''
He said America will support any efforts by any parties that recognize the legitimate aspirations of both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Obama said the ``United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.'' And he called on Palestinians, particularly the Hamas faction, to ``abandon violence'' and recognize Israel's right to exist.
IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN
Obama says the United States has no intention of keeping its troops in Afghanistan and America seeks no permanent military bases there.
Obama calls it costly and politically difficult to continue the conflict. But he says there still are violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan who are determined to kill Americans. Obama is stressing that the U.S. will not weaken its commitment to rooting out terrorists. But he says military might must be paired with diplomatic efforts.
Obama also discussed Iraq in his speech, saying that the United States learned from that war that America needs to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve problems whenever possible.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
The President says freedom of religion is central to peoples' ability to live together.
Obama said Islam has a tradition of tolerance, something he saw firsthand as a child in Indonesia. Obama says people should be free to worship as they see fit and that Western countries should not impose restrictions on how Muslims practice their faith.
Obama acknowledges rules inside the United States have made it more difficult for American Muslims to donate to Islamic charities and says he is committed to ease such giving.
He says some Muslims measure their own faith by rejecting other's beliefs, a notion he says he rejects.
KORAN
The speech was laced with references to the Koran and his Muslim roots.
Obama quoted the Holy Koran as commanding, ``Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.'' He said he shared that conviction, as ``rooted in my own experience.'' The president noted that while he now is a Christian, his father had come from a Kenyan family that ``includes generations of Muslims.''
He pointed to a Muslim Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat as the first to be elected to Congrress, saying he took the oath ``using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson, kept in his personal library.''
Obama also quoted from the Holy Bible and the Jewish Talmud in making his argument for better relations between the United States and the Muslim world.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS
Obama told his audience women should have the right to choose whether they want to be equal with men.
The president says doesn't believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal. And he says he respects women who choose traditional roles. But he says women should have that choice.
So, Obama is promising that the United States will partner with Muslim countries to support expanded literacy for girls and will help young women pursue jobs through a micro-financing program.
President Obama greets Egyptian President Mubarak Thursday in Cairo.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/6/220861