by Don Patrick Amarasinghe

Created on: June 23, 2009   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

"I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect," President Obama said on June 4th, in his historical speech at Cairo University. The speech addressed Muslim grievances against the United States and stressed the need for joint actions to deal with the issues of extreme violence, nuclear weapons proliferation, democracy, women's rights, rights to exist for both the Israel and Palestine, and freedom of religion. It is a new beginning as the speech was based on universal truths, and was the first time for many to see that a U.S. President spoke with a vision, a strong passion, confidence, and in a conciliatory manner.

How to evaluate whether this speech launched a 'new beginning' with respect to relations between Muslims, and the United States? First and foremost, the image created by President Obama in Cairo seems important for building trust between the United States and the Muslim world. Second, it is necessary to look at what elements of the speech would help to lay foundation of a new beginning. Third, it is important to discuss the immediate reactions of the general public, comments by organizations, and academia, and politicians, to understand how the speech was immediately felt.

Obama can be considered as a multi-cultural expression, transcending various cultures, though he is an American born citizen. His father was rooted in generations of Muslims in Kenya; his mother was a well educated woman from the Midwest; he himself spent his childhood in Indonesia, a densely populated Muslim country. Part of his name, Hussein, means a prominent person in Shiite Islam, and it is a royal name in Jordan. The city of Obama is a capital of Wakasa Province, in Japan, where Wakasa people danced in streets when Barak Obama became the President of the United States. Collin Powell a great Republican, once said "Obama is a transformational figure coming on to the world stage. His thinking, as emerged from the Cairo Speech, transcends cultures. His multi-cultural expression made him unique, and developed a new image unlike, particularly, the former administration.

Obama commenced his speech by saying Sallam-Al-Ekum (peace be with you),and it gave the theme at the beginning for his speech. He said that America and Islam are not exclusive to each other, and need not be in competition. He validated this argument showing how he perceived the Muslim culture, differently from

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