Obama speech to Muslims instantly rebuffed by Middle East’s Islamists
US President Barack Obama’s speech to the Muslim world in Cairo today has elicited an ecstatic reaction from his supporters in the West but it has already been rebuffed by Islamists such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. “Moderate” Arab countries and institutions focused on the parts of his speech which suited them such as his calls for Israel to work towards a two-state solution with the Palestinians while ignoring his simultaneous calls for the Arabs to recognise Israel and end anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.
Here is a set of comments on his speech from Islamists across the Middle East which suggest that pretty speeches will not be sufficient to deal with the real problems the region faces:
1) Hezbollah spokesman Hassan Fadlallah. Reported by the BBC:
“The Islamic world does not need moral or political sermons. It needs a fundamental change in American policy beginning from a halt to complete support for Israeli aggression on the region, especially on Lebanese and Palestinians, to an American withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan and a stop to its interference in the affairs of Islamic countries. We have not seen any change in US policy towards the Palestinian cause.”
2) Joint statement by eight Damascus-based radical Palestinian factions, including Hamas. Reported by the Associated Press:
“Obama’s speech is an attempt to mislead people and create more illusions to improve America’s aggressive image in the Arab and Islamic world.”
3) Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaking just before Obama delivered his speech and in anticipation of its contents. Report by Agence France Presse:
“The nations in the region hate the United States from the bottom of their hearts because they have seen violence, military intervention and discrimination.”
“The new US government seeks to transform this image. I say firmly, that this will not be achieved by talking, speech and slogans.”
4) Mohamed Habib, deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Reported by Reuters:
“It’s a public relations address more than anything else.”
“There’s an unjust perspective on the part of the American president towards the Palestinian issue, one that does not differ from former President (George W.) Bush’s and the neoconservatives’ perspective.”
5) Ayman Taha, Hamas spokesman in Gaza. Reported by the BBC:
“Speaking about a policy of pursuing a war against extremism and working towards two states for peoples on Palestinian lands is no different from the policy of his predecessor, George W Bush.”
Obama’s speech can be seen in full here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8083250.stm
The script of the speech in text form is available here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/04/barack-obama-keynote-speech-egypt
