Most US Muslims had high praise and felt Mr Obama was genuine and fair in his first attempts to improve relations. -- PHOTO: AFP
CHICAGO - MUSLIMS across the United States said President Barack Obama's address from Egypt on Thursday could be a catalyst toward repairing strained US relations with Muslims worldwide.
The Islamic Society of North America and others called address a welcome shift from Bush administration rhetoric. ISNA President Ingrid Mattson was encouraged by no mention of a 'war on terror' and said Islam has been unfairly associated with violence.
'I felt that he was speaking with Muslim people (rather) than he was coming to lecture the Muslim world,' Mattson said.
'He was honest, forceful. The words I heard, he spoke truth,' said Raja Khalid, 60, who gathered at the Flaming Wok'n Grill in Chicago with other cabbies to sip chai and discuss the speech, which broadcast live in the US at times ranging from 3am to 6am. 'But words don't mean anything unless you act upon them.'
Most US Muslims had high praise and felt Mr Obama was genuine and fair in his first attempts to improve relations. Others said the address would have little long-term impact and offered few specifics on Mid-East peace plans.
Community leaders in Dearborn, Michgan, said Mr Obama's overtures should have been made on US soil first. The Detroit suburb has one of the largest Arab populations in the US and halal cuisine - religiously acceptable in Islam - is available at KFC.
'There's a golden opportunity to invest in and utilise this community's efforts' in the Middle East, said Imad Hamad, a director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. 'It's time for engagement. We're here, we're part of your global makeup and mission.'
Mr Obama emphasised Muslims' importance in American history and a commitment to addressing American laws that hinder US Muslims ability to pay zakat - a religious obligation to donate to charity. He highlighted contributions of American Muslims, such as Rep Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat and the first Muslim elected to the House.
'What was really impressive ... is the way he showcased the Muslim American community to the Muslim world, as a community that was an integral part of the American fabric, one that he was proud of, one that he supported and would protect,' said Amaney Jamal, an assistant professor at Princeton University in New Jersey, which is home to one of the largest concentrations of Muslims in the US.
She likened Thursday's address to Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech, saying Muslim students likely would study it in the future. In underscoring the importance of Muslims in the US, Mr Obama may have overestimated their numbers, saying nearly 7 million live here.
But there is no definitive count of the American Muslim population and estimates vary dramatically, from 2 million to 6 million. Social scientists believe the number is around 3 million, but many Muslim leaders contend that's an undercount caused partly by language barriers and other challenges in surveying Muslim immigrants living in the US.
Mr Obama also spoke of his own ties to Islam. His father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims, and as a child, he spent several years in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country. -- AP
