Obama Wants 'New Beginning' With Muslims

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STEVE INSKEEP, host:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

President Obama is speaking today in one of the capitals of the Islamic world. He'll be on a stage in Cairo and that speech is just moments away.

INSKEEP: He's calling for a fresh start between America and the Muslim world. A speech that's been on his mind since before the election. We're going to hear parts of that speech throughout this morning. And we do have an advanced text in which we hear that the president plans to say, I come to seek a new beginning. So long as our relationship - speaking to Muslims here - is defined by our differences, we'll empower those who sow hatred rather than peace. And…

MONTAGNE: And the president is walking now on stage and beginning to talk.

(Soundbite of applause)

President BARACK OBAMA: Thank you very much.

INSKEEP: We'll hear a few minutes of the speech and then come back for some analysis.

(Soundbite of uproar and clapping)

Pres. OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Good afternoon. I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning. And for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. And together you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I am grateful for your hospitality and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. And I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people and a greeting of peace for Muslim communities in my country -Aslam Alaikum.

(Soundbite of uproar and applause)

INSKEEP: The president in an auditorium in Cairo, Egypt.

(Soundbite of applause)

Pres. OBAMA: We meet at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the world. Tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. 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 with a regard to their own aspirations.

Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization, led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam. Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001, and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries but also to human rights.

All this has bred more fear and more mistrust. So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we'll empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. And this cycle of suspicion and discord must end.

INSKEEP: Let's hear just a bit more of the president live in Cairo.

Pres. OBAMA: I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning, between the United States and Muslims around the world. One based on mutual interest and mutual respect. And one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead they overlap and share common principles, principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

INSKEEP: President Barack Obama, speaking today in Cairo, Egypt. Beginning a speech in which he reaches out he says to the Muslim world - a priority that's been on his mind, our White House correspondent, Don Gonyea told us earlier today, it's been on his mind ever since before his election as president of the United States. We do have a text of the speech. We'll be hearing more of the speech throughout the morning here on MORNING EDITION.

Some of the things the president will say, is saying now, just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire, calling for two sides of that divide to look at each other anew. He also talks about the Arab-Israeli conflict. The president calls for Israel to accept a Palestinian state and Palestinians to abandon violence. And he also, by the way, speaks of women's rights, saying a woman who is denied an education is denied equality.

MONTAGNE: And we have two experts here with us today in the studio to talk about this speech and what's coming up and what's been said - NPR's diplomatic correspondent Michele Kelemen and Shibley Telhami. Shibley Telhami is the Anwar Sadat professor for peace and development at the University of Maryland and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. And welcome to both of you.

Professor SHIBLEY TELHAMI (Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution): Pleasure.

MICHELE KELEMEN: Nice to be here.

MONTAGNE: And let's start with you, Michele. We just heard the beginning of President Obama's speech. What else can you tell us about that speech today? Again, we do have a transcript of the speech.

KELEMEN: Yeah, I mean, he's really - and as it was billed - he's trying to start this new beginning. It's building on all the outreach he's done in the Muslim world. He talks a lot about his upbringing - lived as a child in Indonesia, came from a Kenyan family that included generations of Muslims, so he comes at this with a different perspective. He's trying to change the debate with the Muslim world. And, you know, there's so many expectations about this speech, so there's so much he has to get into that he talk a little bit about each issue, but not in great detail on all the concrete…

INSKEEP: I want to ask Shibley Telhami about the expectations. He's speaking here to an audience in Cairo of a couple thousand people at a university, but the administration is trying to arrange in many different ways for this speech to get throughout the well over one billion Muslims around the world.

What is the mood or the receptiveness of the audience here?

Prof. TELHAMI: Well, first of all, if you look at the polls that we have done, there's no question that people are listening. You know, people tuned out the end of the Bush administration. People weren't listening to the administration, even when they were saying the right thing, and sometimes they did.

Right now, people have a high opinion of President Obama. His positive ratings are strong in some countries; really strong, like, in Saudi Arabia - 79 percent have positive views of him. In Egypt in particular, his negatives are low but people are a little bit more neutral. But they're somewhat more optimistic about American foreign policy, but their views of American foreign policy haven't changed. There's an expectation…

INSKEEP: They like Obama a little bit better but they're not too much happier with U.S. policies - is that what you're saying?

Prof. TELHAMI: They're basically listening and waiting to see what will happen. So, there's a beginning of credibility but they're waiting for action.

MONTAGNE: Doesn't he though, get credit for withdrawing troops from Iraq, for closing the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo? Just different things he's done.

Prof. TELHAMI: No question. I think when you look at…in fact, the polls indicate very clearly that based on the first few months one reason why people are optimistic is some of the things that he has done, not just the who he is. And that does include his announcement that he intends to pull out of Iraq, his appointment of Mitchell as special envoy and closing Guantanamo, ending torture. Those are important steps that he has undertaken.

INSKEEP: We've got a few seconds before we go to our member stations. Let's bring up President Obama once again in Cairo, Egypt and just hear a few more sentences here, of the president, before we break away.

Pres. OBAMA: …of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims. And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, they have served in our government, they have stood for civil rights, they have started businesses, they have taught at our universities, they've excelled in our sports arenas, they've won Nobel Prizes…

INSKEEP: You hear the president speaking about the accomplishments of American Muslims, speaking to the Muslim world. We're going to hear more of this speech throughout this morning, as well as more analysis from Shibley Telhami, Michele Kelemen and many others.

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News.

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