Obama to Muslims: Islam is a part of America

In a widely anticipated speech in Cairo, U.S. President Barack Obama told Muslims across the world that the United States seeks a "new beginning" with Islamic people.

"I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world," Obama said, adding the new relationship should be based on "mutual interest and mutual respect" and "the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition."

The president began his remarks with an olive branch in the form of a traditional Arabic greeting, saying he was proud "to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum." The term generally means "peace be unto you."

But Obama acknowledged the tension and hostility between the West and Muslims around the world and said these tensions were "rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate."

The president blamed both sides for creating these tensions, citing colonialism and cold war machinations as problems for the West and "violent extremists" exploiting the tensions as a problem for the Muslim world.

Obama called for both sides to drop their hostility and to redefine their relationship based on peace and cooperation instead of conflict and mistrust. "This cycle of suspicion and discord must end," he said.

The president acknowledged that "change cannot happen overnight" and lowered expectations by warning that "no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust." He called for a "sustained effort" to listen to one another as the beginning of a solution.

In a personal aside, the president related his own life story as an explanation of America's diversity. "I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims," Obama said. "As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith."

To cement the ties between the two cultures, the president mentioned that Morocco was the first nation to recognize the United States. He also invoked boxing legend Muhammad Ali and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, the only Muslim member of Congress, who took his oath of office using the same Koran that Thomas Jefferson kept in his personal library. "I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear," Obama said, telling the audience that the U.S. population includes 7 million American Muslims.

In turn, the president also challenged Muslims not to see Americans solely as a stereotype. "Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire," he said, calling the U.S. "one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known."

"So let there be no doubt," Obama said. "Islam is a part of America."

The president worked both sides in discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable," Obama said. But he also acknowledged that "the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland." He called this "undeniable," citing the "pain of dislocation" and "daily humiliations - large and small - that come with occupation."

Speaking in bold terms, the president re-committed the U.S. to a Palestinian state. "So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own."

He called on Palestinians to abandon violence and for Israel to halt settlements in the disputed region. "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop," Obama said.