The United States is aiming to take a "new way forward" in its relationship with the Muslim world. Of this there is no question. Its President Barack Obama succeeded in delivering a message of respect to Muslims across the world through his historic speech in Cairo yesterday. His familiarity with Islam and his ability to quote comfortably from the Quran (he did it four times) is bound to resonate in this part of the world.
The speech's theme was respect and religion. From the start, Obama urged an end to the discord between Islam and the West and called for a new beginning. His knowledge of history supports his view that the Middle East has suffered at the hands of external interferences. "More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations," he said.
Overall, Obama's message on regional affairs was familiar and he did not introduce any new policies or details. He addressed key points on Iraq, Afghanistan, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran. He stuck to his deadline of August 2010 by which time all US troops will have left Iraq. On Afghanistan he insisted that his government did not want to keep any US troops there, and on Iran he continued to reiterate that Iran has a right to peaceful nuclear power - provided it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Obama's take on the ongoing Israeli Palestinian conflict was traditional: he outlined the suffering of both the Israelis and Palestinians. But it is refreshing to hear a US president speak of the Palestinian people's "intolerable" situation. Moreover, his acknowledgement that Hamas has support amongst Palestinians means he has shifted from his predecessor's staunch hardline stance against the group. Nevertheless, Obama said that Hamas must put an end to violence and recognise Israel's right to exist.
In fact, now that Obama has met with the leaders of the Arab world's two most influential nations, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, he has a perfect opportunity to jumpstart the stalled peace process and build on positive points from his trip. It took the previous president years before he turned his attention towards the conflict. From what we heard yesterday, Obama already understands that without resolving the Palestinian people's plight, peace and stability in this part of the world cannot be achieved.
For example, his staunch position against Israel's colony expansion or his call on Israel to lift the siege of Gaza must acted upon. America's words have so far had no impact on Israeli policies.
Obama said it best when he declared: "No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point." The onus is now on him to carry his positive messages forward. After all, everyone is anxious to see action on the ground.
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