One of the reasons I voted for Barack Obama is because he could articulate and pinpoint exactly where the points of tensions and hostility are in the world. The speech he gave in Cairo came out of the gate with a pithy, but dead-on analysis of what is wrong between the West and Islamic nations. It is not about some ideological vision of "freedom" and the "enemies of freedom" or the relationship between the West and "evildoers." That kind of language was and still is laughable and appallingly naive. It is more complex than this bizarre characterization and not difficult to communicate. I am convinced that Bush did not understand the problem and Cheney was so hard up to bomb the hell out of anything that did not fit the vision of the American Empire in the world, that he inflamed rather than doused the tensions.
We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world – tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.
Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust.
So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.
Hopefully we are entering a phase of detente in which those tensions will not give continued momentum to terrorism.
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