Muslims here praise Obama’s outreach

TEXT OF OBAMA'S SPEECH

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 .

The Associated Press contributed to this report.