A Message of Love and Peace

NEWSPAPERS in the Middle East and across the rest of the globe were buzzing — and justifiably so — with the news of the visit of US President Barack Obama to the region last week, radiating dollops of hope and high expectations of a “new beginning” in the relations between the US and the Muslim world.

On the first leg of his tour, President Obama visited Saudi Arabia, where he held talks with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, last Wednesday, and then flew to Egypt where he had discussions with President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak before delivering his much-awaited, landmark speech at the University of Cairo on Thursday.

To put it briefly, the imposing, domed hall of the university reverberated with a message of love and peace, all through the gripping speech, befitting the solemn surrounds of the learning centre and the profound atmospherics of the region.

The Arab and foreign press elaborated on the significance of the visit of President Obama to the Middle East, spotlighting his sublime ideas and proposals, particularly those pertaining to the Palestinian cause, something which made the Arabs and Muslims enormously happy with a rising tide of expectations. They now hope that the presidential visit would indeed help fructify their aspirations.

It’s a truism that the Palestinian cause is at the top of the catalog of Arab concerns; the visit of the US.. president is expected to reinvigorate international efforts to resolve this issue in a just and peaceful way. Obama’s popularity is rising in the Arab and Muslim world because of the importance and urgency he attaches to the Palestinian question and the growing perception that he is sincere about bridging the gap with Arab and Muslim countries.

Obama has expressed this desire several times ever since he assumed office last January and he emphasized it yet again in his inspiring speech at the Cairo University last Thursday. He also expressed the necessity of establishing strong and lasting ties with the Arab and Muslim countries based on mutual respect and recognition.

A crackle of optimism is palpable among the Arabs, which will hopefully turn into a wave of sanguinity all through the term of the current U.S. president. Obama is perceived to be capable of making a significant shift from the tainted legacy left by the former U.S. administration, especially regarding the Palestinian issue. However, the soaring optimism is laced with a twinge of pessimism because the president’s life is at great risk from the Jews who could resort to a whole panoply of conspiracy-driven attempts if he is seen to be zeroing in on setting up an independent state for the Palestinians.

No doubt, Obama’s stirring speech must have jogged the thoughts and emotions of pretty much everyone worldwide.

But we enter a caveat: the road to a new era of distinct relations between the U.S. and the Arab-Muslim word is awfully bumpy and hence tremendous efforts and a high degree of resilience are required from both sides.

The world, not least the U.S., must understand that Arabs are their partners in combating all forms of terror against humanity. It is therefore illogical and unfair to accuse the Arabs and Muslims of spreading terror across the world as did the former US administration led by George W. Bush.

The current U.S. administration ought to put the words of Obama into practice by crafting realistic and well-rounded policies capable of rectifying several wrong concepts and misrepresented facts, not least in terms of the Arab-Israeli conflict, recognising in the process, the inalienable right of the Palestinians to live peacefully in a state of their own.

It is high time for Arabs to sink their differences once and for all and adopt a united stance over their issues at the world fora. This will provide them with power, effectiveness and political capital in dealing with Arab issues.

Shrinking from this profound responsibility will only spell disaster and will render the inspiring speech of Obama almost powerless or, at best, make it appear as a stream of well-intentioned words to be documented and stored at the archives of foreign ministries worldwide, particularly those of the Arab countries which are supposed to help turn Obama’s words into solid support for Arab causes at the international arenas.