Islam, Russia and Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama is continuing to make significant personal decisions, trying to correct the image of the United States, which has been seriously damaged by George Bush Jr.’s foreign policy. Many people around the world think that the American image is so badly damaged that even Obama, with deep personal roots connecting him to the Muslim world, would not be able to fix it.

However, the Iraq war, which has cost thousands of Iraqi lives, secret prisons in different locations worldwide where suspected terrorists were tortured to extort information, often without regard to basic judicial requirements and standards, has led to a disgusting impression of the U.S. within the international community. The memory will linger for a long time. The recent threats from Washington in the address to the Muslim world which is perceived as a geopolitical enemy of the United States and the increased border security procedures for people of the Muslim faith, contribute to the view that the United States is at war with the Muslim world.

Besides this, the close relationship between the United States and Israel, whose right of existence is questioned in the Arab world, has always had a significant effect on America’s relationship with Islam. From the beginning of Israeli existence, the United States has provided it with substantial aid as well as colossal political support. Many in the Muslim world consider this support as detrimental to the interests of Muslim countries. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is perceived by many as an American-Palestinian conflict and even more widely as part of a Global Arab Muslim – American conflict. The United States always sides with Israel, even when the latter in the opinion of its enemies, acts illegally, such as by sabotaging the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Without doubt, Israel is not just a close military and political ally of the United States, it is practically America’s only ally in the region. The Israeli state has proved its right to existence a long time ago and doesn’t need the permission of the Arab countries. However, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on one side, and the refusal to recognize Israel’s right to existence on the other became the basis of prolonged instability in the Near East and the important reason for the hostility of the Arab world towards Washington. It is known that a number of terrorist organizations have committed or planned their attacks on the United States and its interests around the world under the pretext of struggle for Palestinian rights or in protest of its support for Israel.

In actual fact, even in the U. S. there are opinions that America is supporting Israel too unconditionally and has thus become a prisoner of Israeli politics. Americans will not accept a situation where their foreign policy is tied to the actions or positions of the other side, in this case Israel. That’s why in Washington in the last few years, there has been an increase in the number of those who think that politics of the U.S. in relation to Tel Aviv needs to be corrected in a way that it corresponds to America’s national security requirements and global interests.

Partially, this criticism was acknowledged even by the Bush administration, when it raised the issue of creation of state in the Palestinian territory. It noted that without the creation of an independent state in Palestine and its co-existence with Israel, it will be impossible to establish lasting peace in the Near East. The Bush administration we must admit, achieved some success in that direction but his understanding of the war on terror, as well as occupation of Iraq by U.S. servicemen caused enormous protest in the Muslim world which became the insurmountable obstacle for the realization of this political task.

George Bush left America to his successor in a state of “Cold War” with the Muslim world, and the whole world in a very unstable and unpredictable state, full of suspicion, distrust and mutual hostility. He left a world in which it was fashionable and prestigious to criticize, dislike, and disrespect America and prevent the realization of its interests and political goals. This seriously hindered the national security of the United States, its foreign policy opportunities and authority. This is exactly why the question of restoration of America’s image became not just a question of image, but also a major political and military issue for President Obama.

As is known, Obama’s administration chose the speech at Cairo University, the symbol of liberalism in the Muslim world, as the key moment in the strategy of solving this problem. Egypt is an important country in America’s foreign policy. Obama became the sixth president to visit Egypt, following in the footsteps of Franklin Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George Bush Jr. In his first interview with French media, President Obama stated “the United States and the Western world should learn more about Islam. If we calculate how many Americans are Muslims, we will see that the USA is one of the largest Muslim countries on the planet.” This is especially significant if we take into account the fact that one in ten Americans think that Barack Obama himself is a Muslim.

Also in his speech, President Obama said that America is not in a state of war with the Muslim world. He called for a new era in America’s relations with the Muslim world, highlighting that “as long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred but not peace, those who propagate conflict but not cooperation” He spoke of Iran’s right to develop peaceful nuclear energy, but called for it to join the Non-proliferation Treaty, confirmed his intention to pull American forces out of Iraq and most interestingly, stated that the United States will not accept the development of Jewish settlements on Palestinian territory. Obama also talked of American support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

The speech of the American president was perceived in different ways both in the United States and abroad. Some think that Obama opened a new era in America’s relationship with the Muslim world that will have a positive effect on the stability of the international system. Others believe that Obama betrayed America’s most reliable partner- Israel, which will deal a blow on America’s security, and will make it more vulnerable since you cannot abandon loyal friends without consequences. Some think that the speech will not change anything since there are many barriers between Obama’s words and real political change, and each one can extinguish presidential efforts. In any case, everyone admits that Obama took a decisive step with respect to the Islamic world. His next major trip will be to Russia. There are basis for hope that the new thinking in Washington is not limited to relations with the Muslims.

At least that’s how it looks from Washington.