THE NATIONAL (UAE): CAIRO – Since the May 8 announcement that the US president, Barack Obama, would deliver his long-awaited speech to the Islamic world in Egypt, the country has been gripped by “Obamamania”.
“‘Obama Flu’ is a new epidemic that hasn’t appeared except in Egypt,” wrote Ammar Ali Hassan, a political analyst, in the independent daily newspaper Al Masry Al-Youm last month. “This plague carries definite indicators that it’s more lethal than bird and swine flu, because its doesn’t attack the respiratory system, but the mind, heart and nerves.”
Mr Obama is scheduled to give his speech on Thursday in Cairo. The visit has been hailed by the state media as a victory for the Egyptian regime against those who criticise its human rights and democracy records and a boost to Egypt’s role in the region.
On the other hand, many human rights activists, bloggers and critics of the regime were upset by the choice of Cairo, as they saw it as a US retreat on its push for democracy in the region and unnecessary boost for the government of Hosni Mubarak, the president, at their expense.
“We can’t deny our shock from Obama’s planned visit to Egypt,” said Abdel Halim Qandil, the spokesman for Kefaya, an opposition group. “When he comes to Cairo, he will be Mubarak’s, not the Egyptian people’s, guest. This visit will have a negative impact on Obama’s image, who is popular in Egypt.”
“Obama’s choice for Egypt wasn’t surprising, shocking or contrary to expectations,” said Ayman Nour, a leading figure in the opposition. “Egypt, with its size, people, location and history, is bigger than its regime and what it stands for.”
“The speech targets the Muslim people, not their governments, and addressing them with a new language by a president who has Islamic family roots,” Manar el Shorbagi, an assistant professor of political science at the American University in Cairo, said.
“In other words, the pragmatic Obama wants to close the ideological page of his predecessor and start a new page based on interests. To do so he has to address Muslims’ minds to reach their feelings and Cairo is the best place to do so, as Egypt is not only country of Al-Azhar and Islamic moderation, it’s also where political Islam, both intellectually and militancy, originated,” she said.
The US Embassy in Cairo confirmed on its website yesterday that Mr Obama will deliver his speech at Cairo University. >>> Nadia abou el-Magd, Foreign Correspondent | Monday, June 01, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama Will Pledge to Heal Rift with Islam
President Barack Obama will offer a "personal commitment" to bridge differences between the United States and Muslims in a eagerly anticipated speech in Egypt this week.
The address at the University of Cairo on Thursday is the centrepiece of Mr Obama's second overseas tour as president. The trip begins in Saudi Arabia and includes stops at a former concentration camp in Germany and ceremonies in Normandy to mark the D-Day anniversary.
Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said the president would "review particular issues of concern, such as violent extremism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" and "discuss new areas for partnership".
"The speech will outline his personal commitment to engagement, based upon mutual interests and mutual respect," he said.
It is intended to be the president's most striking attempt – delivered in the heart of an Arab capital – to reassure Muslims of American goodwill and to repair the damage done to his country's reputation by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the controversial tactics of George W Bush's "war on terror".
The effort started at Mr Obama's inauguration and continued in Istanbul, when he said Islam had nothing to fear from the West.
The president, whose middle name is Hussein, is likely to play up his Muslim associations, having downplayed them for domestic consumption.
Denis McDonough, the deputy national security adviser, said that Mr Obama had "experienced Islam on three continents before he has been able to visit the heart of the Islamic world".
He cited the president's "upbringing" in Indonesia, where he spent four years as a child, and how Muslim Americans were "a key part of Illinois and Chicago", Mr Obama's base. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Sunday, May 31, 2009
YOUTUBE: A Tale of Two Bows, Starring Barack Obama
