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Obama to address Muslims in Egypt in June

Laila

Laila

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WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President Barack Obama will make a fresh attempt to ease mistrust between the United States and the Muslim world with a long-awaited speech in Egypt on June 4, the White House said Friday.

Obama promised during his election campaign to give the speech before a major Islamic forum on US ties with the Islamic faith during his first 100 days in office, which expired last week,

Though Obama's timetable slipped slightly, he did make a closely watched statement in the Turkish parliament last month, declaring that the United States was not at war with Islam and noted his own partly Muslim heritage.

"On June 4, the president will give a speech in Egypt. The speech will be about America's relations with the Muslim world," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

Gibbs said the speech was a part of a "continuing effort by this president and this White House to demonstrate how we can work together to ensure the safety and security and the future well being through hope and opportunity of the children of this country and of the Muslim world," Gibbs said.

"That's what the President promised to do when he promised to give this speech."

Gibbs said that the exact location of the speech had yet to be finalized, and defended Obama from claims that the choice of Egypt conflicted with the desire of US policymakers to promote democracy abroad.

"It is a country that in many ways represents the heart of the Arab world," Gibbs said. "I think it will be a terrific opportunity for the president to address and discuss our relationship with the Muslim world."

AFP: Obama to address Muslims in Egypt in June

Now this will be interesting to see.
 
IIRC, Cairo was the original choice for his address. Not sure if anything has changed in that regard.

I think it’s a good thing. The US has some fences to mend in the Muslim world and this address speaks directly to that world. Converesly, it is an opportunity for the Muslim community to meet and listen to the ideas and worldview of the new American president.

They may not like everything he has to say but by and large... I think he will greatly impress his audience.
 
There's a Muslim world? I don't think so.
 
Tashah said:
IIRC, Cairo was the original choice for his address. Not sure if anything has changed in that regard.

I think it’s a good thing. The US has some fences to mend in the Muslim world and this address speaks directly to that world. Converesly, it is an opportunity for the Muslim community to meet and listen to the ideas and worldview of the new American president.

They may not like everything he has to say but by and large... I think he will greatly impress his audience.
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I agree.
I think Obama will mend some of those fences and this will be a great time for US to tell the Arab/Muslim world and leaders what they want and think and vice versa.
I'm very positive about the President and his future role in the Muslim world.
 
I believe this will be a very good thing. Fence mending is a better strategy than "bring 'em on." Egypt, while having it's problems, is a very good example of a modern Muslim nation that can co-exist not only with the west, but with Israel as well. At peace and in a spirit of cooperation. Egypt is an excellent springboard of sorts for this kind of new middle east diplomacy. Jordan should be next.
 
Lerxst said:
I believe this will be a very good thing. Fence mending is a better strategy than "bring 'em on." Egypt, while having it's problems, is a very good example of a modern Muslim nation that can co-exist not only with the west, but with Israel as well. At peace and in a spirit of cooperation. Egypt is an excellent springboard of sorts for this kind of new middle east diplomacy. Jordan should be next.
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Spirit of cooperation with Israel?

So allowing Hamas to dig tunnels into Egypt for the purpose of smuggling weapons and rockets into Gaza, then standing idly by while said smuggling goes on, is cooperating with Israel?

Egypt is one of the more moderate states in the Middle East, that much is absolutely true. Still, they do not "cooperate" with Israel; they have learned to tolerate Israel's existence. They prefer the Jewish state of Israel to anything the Palestinians have to offer--but all else being equal, they would, like the rest of the Middle East, prefer Israel did not exist as a Jewish state.
 
Indeed, this is a very nice opportunity to demonstrate to the Muslim world that the U.S. is not their enemy but, their friend. The more Obama can convince them of that the more Muslims will turn against Al Qaeda type terrorist groups. That is the best way to defeat AQ and rebuild the relationship btwn America and Muslims.
 
ADK_Forever said:
Indeed, this is a very nice opportunity to demonstrate to the Muslim world that the U.S. is not their enemy but, their friend. The more Obama can convince them of that the more Muslims will turn against Al Qaeda type terrorist groups. That is the best way to defeat AQ and rebuild the relationship btwn America and Muslims.
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The best way to defeat Al Qaeda is to let them meet Allah.
 
celticlord said:
Spirit of cooperation with Israel?

So allowing Hamas to dig tunnels into Egypt for the purpose of smuggling weapons and rockets into Gaza, then standing idly by while said smuggling goes on, is cooperating with Israel?
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Egypt puts the bite on Gaza tunnel smugglers. You were saying?

Egypt is one of the more moderate states in the Middle East, that much is absolutely true. Still, they do not "cooperate" with Israel; they have learned to tolerate Israel's existence. They prefer the Jewish state of Israel to anything the Palestinians have to offer--but all else being equal, they would, like the rest of the Middle East, prefer Israel did not exist as a Jewish state.
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30th Anniversary of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. They don't cooperate? Have a read.
Today, thanks to the vision of the Israeli and Egyptian leaders, the two countries cooperate on a wide range of issues, meeting in joint committees on various matters. The Joint Military Committee holds regular meetings to coordinate military-defense issues, thus ensuring continual communication between the armies. The Joint Economic Committee meets to promote economic-trade cooperation between the two countries. Especially productive is the field of agricultural cooperation under the Joint Agricultural Committee which meets twice a year. Since its inception in 1981, it has been responsible for the initiation of hundreds of agricultural projects, with the goal of continuously improving the agricultural knowledge and capabilities of the two countries. To date, this cooperation has produced dozens of joint agricultural farms and joint agricultural training programs, for which thousands of Egyptian agricultural trainees have come to Israel. In 2007, approximately 200 Egyptian farmers underwent training on various subjects in Israel.

The Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement plays an important role in the bilateral relationship of the two countries. Signed in 2004, the agreement permits Egyptian companies using Israeli agricultural products tax-free exports to the United States. This advanced form of cooperation constitutes a successful model for emulation within the framework of the bilateral relationship. The mutual trade between the two countries in 2008 amounted to 271 million dollars, as opposed to only 59 million dollars in 2004, the year prior to the signing of the agreement - an increase of over 450%.

Another important and central element in the bilateral economic relationship is the Gas Agreement. Valued at US$ 2.5 billion over a 15-year period, this huge contract was signed in 2005 between the Israel Electric Company and the Egyptian East Mediterranean Gas Co. (EMG)

Other areas of bilateral cooperation, albeit somewhat limited, are the areas of tourism, transportation, communications and health.

The Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty has proven its value in political issues as well, on both the bilateral and the regional levels. Despite some difficulties, the peace between Israel and Egypt has proved to be solid and stable, demonstrating the preeminence of the desire for peace which exists in both peoples, as well as the strategic value for both countries. The current peaceful relations constitute the basic reality for all regional political developments, and represent a supportive and contributory factor in the continuation of the Middle East peace process in general and with the Palestinians in particular. Within the framework of the bilateral relations, there is an ongoing dialogue between Egypt and Israel on various issues, including problematical and sensitive matters. The regularity of meetings between the leaders of the two nations is high, and the discussions focus on both bilateral relations and the promotion of the Middle East peace process.
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Your response?
 
celticlord said:
The best way to defeat Al Qaeda is to let them meet Allah.
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Yes, the macho answer is always the coolest, but rarely the most realistic. Certainly we must be vigilant and use force when and where it's the solution fo choice, but we will not defeat militant Islam or Al Qaeda by force alone. Militant Islamist groups like Al Qaeda must be strangled from within, their breeding grounds must be salted. The best way to do that is to address the factors that push at risk Muslims into their sphere of influence. Moderate and modernist Islam influence must be allowed to flourish, we must work to counter the vilification that is so easily propagated by radical Clerics. We do that be strengthening our relationship with Muslim nations and do it in such a way that we can minimize the appearance that we are trying to Westernize them.
 
celticlord said:
Spirit of cooperation with Israel?

So allowing Hamas to dig tunnels into Egypt for the purpose of smuggling weapons and rockets into Gaza, then standing idly by while said smuggling goes on, is cooperating with Israel?
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I must also disagree with this. Egypt has taken strong measures to discover and destroy smuggling tunnels. The Egyptian controls at the Ramallah Crossing are very stringent (moreso than the EU inspectors) and they honor Israeli requests to deny passage to known extremists. Egypt has also stepped up patrols in the Sinai significantly and has arrested dozens of Hamas smugglers and infiltrators. The Egyptian Security Service cooperates with the Mossad and Shin Bet quite extensively.

celticlord said:
Egypt is one of the more moderate states in the Middle East, that much is absolutely true. Still, they do not "cooperate" with Israel; they have learned to tolerate Israel's existence. They prefer the Jewish state of Israel to anything the Palestinians have to offer--but all else being equal, they would, like the rest of the Middle East, prefer Israel did not exist as a Jewish state.
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The Egyptian government is pragmatic and realizes that Israel is here to stay. The two nations cooperate on many levels. Egypt does everything possible to encourage Israeli tourists and has removed all entrance controls for Israelis visiting Egypt's Zone 7. Israelis can enter Egypt at Taba with no passport or visa required. Many Egyptians visit Israel's Red Sea resort city of Eilat and are always awestruck by its architecture, modernity, and beauty.
 
I agree that the next place of venue after Egypt for Obama should be Jordan. A much more moderate Islamic royal family (even though there is no such thing as royalty in Islam), than say the Saud royal family.

The British should have only sided with the Hashemite family. They could have expelled ibn Rashid's forces much more effectively.
 
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