The quotations below have been collected by the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy.
“President Obama’s Cairo speech was unprecedented in a number of ways. Firstly, it sought to establish common ground with Muslims by stressing that human rights and democracy, for example, are shared universal concerns and that there are strong historical links between the West and the Islamic world. His carefully crafted speech avoided the polarizing language of the Bush administration - no us vs. them. Secondly, and this is highly significant, Obama stressed that differences that exist are based on concrete political issues, not on fundamental differences in values and world-view. Thirdly, I personally was struck by the note of humility and spirit of conciliation that characterized the speech. We all know the very real constraints placed on American presidents when it comes to addressing the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Obama’s acknowledgment that American foreign policy has been misguided in the past in shoring up dictatorships in the Middle East, which has contributed to the current Muslim disenchantment with the US, is clearly a step in the right direction”
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