Muslims here praise Obama’s outreach
Leaders of Richmond's Muslim community said they are pleased with President Barack Obama's speech yesterday in Cairo, not just because they're Muslims but also because they're Americans.
"There's a lot of excitement," said Imam Ammar Amonette of the Islamic Center of Virginia. Obama "addressed both the American Muslim community and our history and our part in America, as well as acknowledged the Muslim world as a whole and the need for a new beginning of mutual respect and recognizing problems."
Obama, speaking at a seat of Islamic learning in Cairo, delivered a 55-minute speech that was suffused with respect for touchstones of Islam. The overture was watched intently by Muslims worldwide.
"You can't overstate this," Amonette said. "It's seen abroad and here as a very, very important speech."
Imad Damaj, president of the Virginia Muslim Coalition for Public Affairs, said he is "full of hope" after hearing Obama's address.
"As an American from a Muslim faith, I am so grateful to be part of our great nation, and I am so proud of our president, and I am very hopeful for a better future for all of us," he said.
Ali Faruk, 25, a board member of the Virginia Muslim Coalition for Public Affairs, praised Obama as an exceptional communicator, "a leader who could define reality in a constructive way and communicate the vision."
He added: "It's one thing to say terrorists are evil, and it's another to say that the bulk of people who have died at the hands of these extremists are Muslims. There's a common enemy."
Obama also called for the creation of an independent Palestinian state and for Israel to freeze settlements in the West Bank.
In Richmond's Jewish community, Rabbi Ben Romer of Congregation Or Ami said he didn't think the president's speech had endangered America's relationship with Israel.
"I think what he said was powerful, meaningful, appropriate and diplomatic, something that works a lot better than shooting people. . . . I think this helps move America into a position where it can help speak with many Muslim nations and be accepted as an intermediary."
The timing of the speech gave it additional significance for Amonette. While President George W. Bush and President Bill Clinton made gestures toward the Islamic community, Obama made a major speech at the beginning of his administration.
"It's not an afterthought," Amonette said. "For him to make that effort says a lot."
Obama gained credence in the Muslim world, Amonette said, by acknowledging Muslim contributions to world culture and science and recalling that a Muslim nation, Morocco, was the first to recognize American independence.
"Muslims all over the world know all of these things by heart. They are not used to hearing them coming from Washington," he said.
Amonette also was encouraged by Obama's reference to shared principles between Islam and the American way of life such as "justice and tolerance and dignity, not preaching to Muslims but acknowledging that we share these things."
Damaj noted that actions will need to follow on the part of the Americans, Israelis and Arabs.
"It's a good start, setting the tone," he said. "Now, we want action to follow words from all sides."
Contact Katherine Calos at (804) 649-6433 or
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Reader Reactions
greta: unfortunately it’s inaccurate and factless attitutdes such as your that will prevent peace from ever happening.
BTW: How many muslim friends do you have? I have many and talk to them and learn from them. Maybe you should do the same.
greta: there is some WOEFUL undereducation and misinformtion in your reply. Muhammed said the great end of Islam is to “honor all sons and daughters of Abraham and all those who love their faith and seek peace in it.“ I am a Christian but I have rea the Koran. Have you? No? Then you should read it instead of listening to these idiot pseudo-educated radio and TV preachers who have less theological education than my schanuzer. BTW: just so you know, the “sons and daughters of Abraham” refers to Jews and Christians (who came to be through Isaac, Abraham’s son) and Muslims (who came to be through Ishmael, Isaac’s half-brother).
DarnYankee: You would have hated for President Obama to have stood in Riyadh and read the riot act to the Saudi King. Why? How does $9 a gallon gas sound? Saudis could, under the OPEC agreement, divert 100% of the their supply to the Asia corridor. Basically, they could shut off the spigot to the US and fuel India and China and not miss an economic beat.
DarnYankee: I don’t have a “blame America first” agenda. To say that I do fails to understand the nuances of intelligent detente. How can we demand that bad actors must reform and have any legitimacy in doing so if we don’t admit we too have done bad things and are reforming as well? That is basic Diplomacy 101. For example, we can tell Iran to stop arming Hezbollah all we want, but we have ZERO legitimacy in doing so. Why? Because tens of thousands of their citizens were killed with American weapons, American ammunition and American chemical and biological agents during the Iran-Iraq War in the 80’s. Simply put, we armed their enemy so why shouldn’t they do the same thing? And I know you’ll say that was done as a reaction to the hostage situation and revolution. And you would be right. And do you know what that was a reaction to? The 1953 American-led coup that put the Pahlavi family back on the Iranian throne and ended the last truly legitimate muslim democratic movement in the region. Why, might you ask, would we overthrow Mossadegh-led democratic muslim movement? British Petroleum didn’t want to lose access to their royalty-free oil and the US was afraid of Mossadegh’s nationalist leanings. What ensued was a brutal anti-religious secularist crackdown that sent religious leaders into hiding. Guess who almost always survives and ends those crackdowns? The radicals and extremists. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Would you negotiate with someone who you think has done as many, if not more, bad things as you have in the pursuit of peace—especially if that other party is unwilling to admit the bad things they have done?
I have many friends of the Muslim faith as well as friends who are Jews and Christians. The VAST, VAST majority of muslims harbor no ill will toward the US or Americans. In fact, the vast majority of Iranians (we like to believe they’re the worst, don’t we?) want detente with the US. To pigeon-hole all muslims based on the actions of a few would be just like pigeon-holing all Christians based on the broadcasts of Pat Robertson and Jimmy Swagart.
I am no apologist. I just think its time for all to come to the table and own their own wrongdoing and move forward. That’s the way toward peace. Fortunately, we have a very smart President who understands this. Its not about ceding ground of the past, its about finding new common ground in the future.
I would like to suggest that anyone foolish enough to imagine that the radical Muslims require any defense or comparision to the “sins” of the United States needs to simply LISTEN to the Muslims themselves.
Read the goals of Al Qaeda and believe them.
Islam believes very simply that it is destined to eventually rule the entire world.
No other ideology (democracy, communism or despotism) matches what Islam stands for.
The goals of Islam are more important than that of the individual. It fights to recreate its mystical past, the great Empire that it feels was taken from it by non-believers. It glorifies war, violence and intimidation. It is eternally belligerant and claims superiority over non-believers. It is always anti-christian anti- judiasm and anti- liberialism.
This is an ideology that is determined to conquer the entire world. By the sword.
How in God’s name can someone compare this evil world-wide movement to two loons in Oklahoma?
The panic after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and WWII was upon us.
For a political whim?
You have got to be kidding.
Only the newly minted and despicable blame America first contingent. Of course this country has made mistakes. Big ones.
But that is the difference. What the radical Muslims are about is no MISTAKE.
It has been planned and announced and there can be no misunderstanding for those of use who are listening. Not to the politicians but to the a involved.
It is time to stop making useless comparisions and time to start listening to the enemies who declared war on us long ago.
Not because we are Americans and christians and jews and hindis buddhists but because we are NOT Muslims.
HenricoCitizen: None of the incidents/crimes that you mentioned had Islam as their victims, so while they serve your “blame America first” agenda, they are irrelevant to the discussion at hand.
Yes, we have our share of criminals and domestic nutcases, but all their crimes don’t justify the hatred and evil that the Wahabis and other Islamo-facist terrorists seek to inflict on the United States and Israel.
Obama would have been “bold” if he had delivered a speech criticizing radical Islam in Rihayd…making that speech in Cairo was merely curious.
Henrico - Oddly enough, we’ve been listening to a non-stop laundry list of America’s shortcomings and failings during the his campaign and continuing into the Obama “Bend America Over a Barrel Tour” - thought I’d offer some balance. Obama certainly is gutsy when he’s carving up the U.S. and Israel, but, he’s woefully gentle with countries that are hostile towards us.
Google “Gary Bauer’s Cairo Deception” - it’s a pretty interesting response.
All I really want to know is where can I get one of those big black bags to keep my woman in?
You are crazy if you don’t believe that it was a new approach???????
Obama gained credence in the Muslim world, Amonette said, by acknowledging Muslim contributions to world culture and science and recalling that a Muslim nation, Morocco, was the first to recognize American independence.
Kaine, Morocco,,, Warner, India,,, you and I, out o-Business!!! On your tax dollars!!!
Obama faced the most difficult issues of our time HEAD ON,,,, since his last BURGER RUN, YEA!
Work for the U.S. or us not the other countries or GOD you democratic kiss BUT OX kind O-People!
To act submissively or obsequiously towards people of influence of power in order to gain position or favor, derogatory name of self servile self-seeker who hopes to gain favor of the rich, powerful and influential people!!!!! KISS AS’
The U.S.A. needs to stand up for the U.S.A.!!!!
Sorry, I need to go out now! Have a good evening.
Randy: You are sooooo right. Muslims do ALL the bad things in the world…well…except for the time our non-muslim CIA staged a coup in Chile and installed Augusto Pinochet to power and helped his troops murder tens of thousands of Allende supporters. And oh yeah, there were the hundreds of thousands of native Americans our non-muslim forefathers murdered because they were the Godless infidels standing in the way of Manifest Destiny. And was it a muslim who drove a truck up to the front of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and murdered 168 innocent people by exploding 5400 lbs of ammonium nitrate? Nope. It was Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols—two white Christian non-muslims. And let’s not forget that we (the non-muslim US) took thousands of Japanese-Americans hostage during WWII and put them in concentration camps because it served political whim. Oh yeah, and wasn’t it the USS Vincennes that shot Iran Air flight 655 out of the sky over international waters and killed 290? Was that a muslim act? And if it was an accident, why was the crew of the Vincennes awarded Combat Action Ribbons for their actions on Sunday 3 July, 1988 (the date of the shoot down)?
My point? We have ALL done bad things on the global stage at some point. Our bad actions cannot justify theirs and vice versa. At some point we have to admit we have all been bad actors and that we must work for a new day. To simply judge others and call them evil when we refuse to admit our own bad actions is, well, sin. “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to others, “let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take th speck out of your neighbor’s eye.“ And if you have a problem with that, don’t take it up with me, blame Jesus! (7th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew)
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