obama speech in cairo

obama speech in cairo
President Barack Obama's personal history -- especially his family roots in Islam -- helped capture the fascination of the world's one-billion-plus Muslims when he was elected.
Still, Mr. Obama faces skepticism about the substance of his speech in Cairo Thursday. Expectations are high he'll address specific policy, especially regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
India
Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan, president of All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, the umbrella body of Indian Muslim organizations, said South Asian Muslims welcomed Mr. Obama's election. But so far, hasn't delivered the sort of u-turns on U.S. policy many had hoped for.
"President Obama has belied our hopes. Apart from cosmetic and semantic changes, everything is pretty much the same," Mr. Khan said. "In one word: we want America to have one policy for both home and abroad. Let America respect liberty, human rights, democracy and the outcomes of democratic elections in the Muslim world; Let America support the rule of law in the Muslim world; Let America stop supporting dictatorships camouflaged in various shapes and colors in the Muslim world."
Iraq
Baghdad shop-owner Jassem Mohammed, 45 years old, said he suspects the American president would use his past family ties to Islam to try to woo Muslims, but he said he's not buying it. "This is just propaganda for America because of all the bad things that have happened in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.
But Fa'az Nouri, a 40-year-old government employee, was more optimistic. He said he hoped Mr. Obama's speech would help mark the beginning of peace in the Middle East, particularly between Israelis and the rest of the Muslim world.
"At last, we need to have a historic agreement between Arabs and Israel, and the East and West should understand each other better," he said.
Indonesia
In Jakarta, State Islamic University rector Komarudin Hidayat, said he appreciated the rapid outreach by the Obama administration, underscored by his visits to Turkey and, now, the Middle East.
"His recent trip to Turkey and now to Cairo are a friendly gesture toward the Muslim world," Mr. Hidayat said. "Whatever the speech contains, Obama is becoming the bridge between the Western and Muslim worlds."
Palestinian Territories
For Palestinians -- a key audience for Thursday's speech -- Mr. Obama may disappoint. He's made it clear he won't offer specifics on how to push forward Israeli-Palestinian peace, an issue crucial to their daily lives.
"The Americans have always made the Palestinians live up to their commitments, but let Israel do whatever it wants on our land," said Qassem Najar, a high-school English teacher in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
"Obama needs to talk about creating a Palestinian state now. Now!" said Maha Badawi, a student at the West Bank's Birzeit University. "No checkpoints, no wall, freedom of movement, now. Palestinians are running out of patience. The problem is not Iran. It is injustice in the Middle East."