Obama's Olive Branch

After four months in office as U.S. President, Barack Obama presented a speech filled with good intentions for the Arab region and its people.

Most of the audience during the speech agreed that he took a conciliatory tone with the Islamic world and that he may have new insights to old problems which previous administrations have failed to solve. The new administration is trying to resolve issues through diplomacy and soft power, ignoring past policy decisions which Arabs and Muslims used to hear from previous administrations. There appears to be great satisfaction about the new tone and language used in the speech, in which President Obama tried to satisfy all parties. Regarding the Palestinian issue, he called on the Israelis to stop the settlement, while Hamas must end the violence and commit to a solution that will enable the two neighbors to live in stability and safety of both parties. The Palestinian Authority welcomed the speech, while Hamas has noted that it is not free of contradictions, and that words may not translate into action. Similarly, President Obama emphasized America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and the possibility of dialogue with Iran on its nuclear program. Of particular concern is Iraq where Mr. Obama expressed U.S. support for the elected Iraqi government, and its commitment to the Security Agreement between the two countries. He confirmed the withdrawal of U.S. troops as scheduled and stressed that this will be done after securing a bright future for Iraqis. President Obama also pointed out that America does not want bases in Iraq, and is not interested in Iraq’s natural resources, contrary to what the sceptics think. Thus, President Obama tried to please everyone, but excluded the extremists. He pointed out that Islam and other religions encourage tolerance and love, and frowned at extremists who are using Islam to promote violence and murder. Obama noted that most of the victims of terrorist attacks are Muslims and Islamic countries. The world has discovered the dishonesty in the allegations of those extremists who distort and damage the image of Islam in the West. These extremists harm the Messenger of Allah due to a wrong understanding of Islam. An example is the violence and murder perpetrated by Al-Qaeda in the name of religion. Today, the President of the United States has revealed in his speech to the Muslim world that the world recognizes that Islam is a religion of tolerance and coexistence, and that those extremists do not represent Islam. They are killing not only Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also in Arab and Islamic countries.

The U.S. President allayed many fears with his attitude to the Islamic world. Observers believe that we must help and support that vision of restoration and cooperation with the Arabs and Muslims. Mr. Obama is calling on us to shake hands and start over again. Perhaps, we should seize this precious opportunity which may not come again.