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Europe and the U.S.

The crux of our struggle with Iraq (and currently Iran) was our concern that an anti-West Mideast dictator would be at a choke point to the flow of oil. If we and our European friends were not so dependent on oil, the petroleum resources of the Mideast would be more of a pollution problem, rather than a source of wealth. The only way out of this dependency is to find a way to harness our own resources and simply not be dependent on theirs.

- abandoning our generally "secular" outlook of government.

The United States has always practiced separation of church and state. Muslims, on the other hand, believe that religious, cultural and secular life are inseparable and must be governed according to their faith. Although President Obama made several allusions to the "right" of women to wear burqas and tax problems of Muslims in the U.S. with the Muslim counterpart of our "tithing" (actually 2.5% of one's income for charities, etc.), the average American Christian cannot come to grips with Muslim culture. Muslim cabbies who refuse to give rides to unaccompanied, bare-headed women, can continue to expect to lose their jobs in U.S. cities.

- abandoning our support of Israel.

Even Obama was not willing to cede this. This has been the stumbling block to full U.S.-Muslim accord, and will probably remain so. Any "new beginning" in relations between Muslims and the U.S. will have to be based on - or at least ignore - Israel.

What are the prospects of Muslims participating in a "new beginning"? Although President Obama's speech made several charitable allusions to the idea of Muslim tolerance and benevolence of their teachings, there are certain realities in the Muslim world that, despite our President's fond hopes, the Muslim world will never fully come to peaceful accommodation with the West. Obstacles in the path of a "new beginning" include:

- There is no "united front" of Muslims.

Their own denominations (the Sunnis and the Shiites) have a history of sectarian struggle and hatred that rivals the early Christian wars of Reformation. It may be impossible to have a united "new beginning" will intractable enemies like Iran, who pays the tab for Hamas' attacks on Israel and buys munitions for killers of American soldiers. It is absolutely certain that the only way to rid Afghanistan and Pakistan of Taliban oppression will be to defeat them militarily and marginalize them. (Sadly, many, many Muslims openly - or secretly - root for Bin Laden and consider him a hero.)

- Many Muslims saw the death and destruction on September 11, 2001, as a good thing.

Palestinians celebrated wildly in the street and saw the attacks on New York as retribution for America's support of Israel. People in the U.S. have long memories. We have not forgotten Iran's abuse of our embassy staff in the late 1970s. The picture of Arab children celebrating the deaths of thousands will be etched somewhat indelibly in our national psyche for a very long time.

In the end, President Obama's speech was an extremely well-crafted and eloquent statement of his own and our country's search for peace and reconciliation with the Muslim world. It offered nothing new, nor was it a radical departure from U.S. policy towards that unhappy part of the world since the time of Richard Nixon. The speech may have more a "step in the right direction" (reopening a civil dialog), rather than a "new beginning."

Learn more about this author, Jerry Curtis.
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