From the Egyptian capital city of Cairo, United States President Barack Obama will shortly call the Muslim world to turn a new page in its relationship with America and offer them partnership for future based on mutual respect and interest. Being billed as a historic speech by the White House, Obama is expected to be very open and candid about the full range of issues that has been the cause of tension between the US and the Muslim world, when he takes on the podium after a while in Cairo.
The much anticipated speech, White House officials said is part of the overall objective to engage the Muslim world and more such things would follow. "He feels it is important to speak very openly and candidly about the very full range of issues that have caused some tensions between the United States and the Muslim world, and then also present a great deal of opportunity for partnership in the future," Ben Rhodes the President's speech writer, said. Giving a preview of the speech to journalist accompanying the US President, Rhodes said Obama will take on directly some of the misperceptions that may have emerged as well as some of the differences that have emerged.
"He will acknowledge the need for us to get to know each other better. As he has said, he will, for instance, discuss the relationship between Islam and America within America, particularly in light of the contributions of American Muslims," Rhodes said, adding that he would be doing this through a broad range of issues that have been at the forefront of the agenda.
Prominent among them are, Rhodes said, "Violent extremism and the threat that it poses, and what America has done in response, the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan and what we're doing there, and what we hope to do in the future in partnership with Afghans and Pakistanis." Obama will also discuss Iraq, both what the US has done and what steps his administration intend to take in the future.
"He will discuss the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the broader Arab-Israeli issue, and acknowledging the fact that this has been a very important source of tension and passion for people of all faiths within this region and around the world, and he will discuss in some detail his view of the conflict and what needs to be done to resolve it. He will discuss both what that means in terms of Israelis and Palestinians and the United States and the Arab states, as well," Rhodes said, according to a transcript of the press conference made available by the White House.
The US Department of State will provide highlights from the historic speech through SMS updates. The SMS service will allow citizens across the world to recieve the speech's highlights.
Those who want to avail of this service can log on to http://www.america.gov/sms.html.
Image: US President Barack Obama and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak participate in an arrival ceremony at Quba Palace in Cairo | Photograph: Larry Downing/Reuters
