[Washington Post] Howard Schneider - President Obama's choice of Egypt as the site of his address to the Muslim world endeared him to Egyptians, who are always proud to host a foreigner and show off their history. When he sprinkled his speech with words from the Koran and balanced support for Israel with a strong call for a Palestinian state, the deal was closed. The appreciation for the new approach from a U.S. president seemed widespread among Middle Eastern Muslims after the speech. However, in Lebanon, a Hizbullah official dismissed the speech as a "sermon," while a representative of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt characterized it as "public relations" with little substance. Ahmed Yousef, a spokesman for Hamas, told al-Jazeera that the address would not entice Hamas to recognize Israel. "What he said about Islam was great. What he said about Palestinian suffering and a Palestinian state is great," but "we have a lot of reservations."
2009-06-05 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive