I really liked this speech. I think that it is what the world needs to hear a little more of out of America for a little while. Bravo, Mr. President.
Naturally, as a Christian, I want to insert our mission in the midst of it, to continue doing our part to establish the Kingdom of God throughout the world (or at least practice of it’s values, HE has already established it)… and to preach to bring people into relationship with God so that His spirit can transform them.
This speech is great… but I don’t think we can succeed at this mission if Christians are not serious about evangelism, because ultimately only God’s Spirit can transform the hearts of men from hate to love.

@BenB yikes. you want to replace oil imperialism with religious imperialism? i somehow doubt that’s going to go over very well.

I just finished watching the video on C-Span’s web site (http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/06/04/HP/R/19357/Pres+Obama+Speaks+to+the+Muslim+World+From+Cairo.aspx), and found the speech amazing. President Obama knew how to acknowledge and recognize as valid Muslim concerns while clearly articulating his own. His theme of telling the truth was powerful, and he courageously spoke a number of truths to the whole world, includng the West, not just to Muslims. He laid down a challenge to focus on the future, not the past. Everything in my experience of having lived and worked in another culture for over twenty years, and in graduate training in conflict resolution, says he said what needed saying in the way it needed to be said.

Just one more thought: By clearly identifying himself as a Christian at the beginning, and given what he said and how he said it, President Obama may have single-handedly made a huge contribution to improving the image of Western Christians in the Muslim world. And his repeated emphasis on religious liberty for Christians in Muslim countries may, in the long term, have a significant effect. While some may quibble with isolated sentences here and there, I think his entire stance toward the Muslim world in the speech was a profoundly Christian one.

Jim,
“yikes. you want to replace oil imperialism with religious imperialism? i somehow doubt that’s going to go over very well.”
What does this mean?
If you mean I’m not approaching the world pluralistically, and am serious about evangelism and would desire “all men to come to repentance” well then, I guess you can call that religious imperialism.

I am a Christian and an American. I watched Obama’s speech today in a goverment building in the West Bank with high ranking Palestinian Authority representatives.
I was proud to be an American and I am grateful to President Obama for reaching out a hand of friendship to the Muslim world and for speaking firmly and directly about the situation here in Palestine/Israel.
I am here working alongside the Palestinian people, both Christian and Muslim. They are a people I love and respect and a people I long to see living in freedom and peace.
With many prayers going up for a just and lasting peace in this Land, that will bring honor and glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

@BenB you said:
“but I don’t think we can succeed at this mission if Christians are not serious about evangelism, because ultimately only God’s Spirit can transform the hearts of men from hate to love.”
That will be heard as more American arrogance by the people in that part of the world. And yes, you summed it up perfectly. If you don’t approach the world from a position that recognizes the plurality that exists there which you cannot replace, and insist that there is one and only one way that we can make the world a better place, and that you know what it is, and no one from that part of the world does, and so you have to come in and provide it to them, yes. That is imperialism. That is the very thinking that allowed the British (and other European countries) to do what they did across the globe for centuries. They were “civilizing the world” with a Bible in one hand and a rifle in the other. Just because we replace the rifle with the tools of reconstruction doesn’t make the attitude any less imperialistic.
Discounting the religion of a billion people as utterly incapable of equipping them to be the agents of their own peace is arrogant in the extreme. This is the arrogance that makes non-Christians despise us. It negates the power of our witness and of the Good News we could be offering to people. Good News cannot start with “here are the reasons why you are wrong and I am right”.

I thought it was a well-constructed and well-delivered speech grounded in good ideas. Hard to find anything to criticize. The devil, as always, is in the details and in the messy work of trying to bring diverse people into some sort of agreement. But it certainly laid things out well.

While I am hesitant to cheer for a man whose politics I am afraid of, I believe that this olive branch that mr. obama has extended is a good start to creating conversation with countries that may have felt alienated from the previous administrations politics. It is only thru conversation that the Good News can be shared, and as uncomfortable as another faith or country’s politics make us, we need to be reach beyond our discomfort and be dirty with the sinners. Remember that we ALL are sinners, we ALL get dirty, and we ALL have messy lives. Didn’t it take someone getting messy with your junk to share the Gospel with you?
I was in the military for the last 14 years, and only recently separated to pursue being part of a church plant. In those years I travelled often to the middle east, including the countries of Lebanon and Pakistan. Let me tell you that the people I worked with in those countries HANDS DOWN love America and what she has done for their country and others around the world. Most countries find our politics engaging and think that we make too much of our differences… especially the political ones. In fact, we Americans spent more time bashing ourselves then other countries. Peace needs to start at home, and we need to stop defining the petty differences of denomination and start working on salvation issues.
For the time that I spent in Pakistan, an Islamic governed country, it was the conversations that I was able to share that mark my time there. We discussed our respective faiths, the differences between them, and the commonalities of Hope, Faith and Love. mr. obama is correct in that they desire peace, and not after we have been wiped off the face of the planet. Take a moment. Say a prayer for peace.
blessings,
mikeyd

I will choose to be the minority opinion here.
The speech might have been big on sincerity, but COMPLETELY WRONG on facts. And I continue to be shocked – not at the ignorance of history – but by the continued apathy when facts are intentionally wrong.
He credits historical Islam with many things:
1. the development of algebra (this came from ancient Babylon, Greek and English cultures)
2. magnetic compass and tools of navigation (actually this comes more from Central America or China)
3. pens and printing (I didn’t know that Gutenberg was Muslim)
4. understanding of disease and healing (name one)
5. majestic arches and soaring spires (arches came from Roman architecture, which Biblical scholars should quickly note)
6. timeless poetry and majestic music (mostly these are forbidden in many Islamic communities)
7. religious tolerance (gimme a break)
So, facts do not matter because he’s looking to ‘reach out’ and heal the world through his words. I don’t know how else to describe this. It seems to be a bit absurd in reality. And to perpetuate the ‘echo syndrome’ I wish to add my sentiments to one mentioned earlier today: Maybe someday he can finally give a speech which compliments American achievement and is proud of his own country. Because right now he is placing blame on and apologizing for the country which provided him opportunity for success and undercutting our contributions to history and world culture.

I was very impressed. To me it seemed as though President Obama was doing gospel-work–an impression which surprised me, considering the decidedly non-Christocentric focus of the speech. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but feel that Obama’s speech in Cairo should be a model and an inspiration for Christians everywhere.

i am amazed at the dismissive and at times vitriolic responses to obama from some conservatives. :mic exemplifies this here. look, as far as facts, the president wasn’t giving complete credit to islamic culture for any of the things he mentioned, merely pointing out that they had made important contributions in those areas. as for focusing on american achievements, etc., please. this speech was a start, nothing more. in my view, it was simply an opening to an ongoing conversation, not a full-fledged thesis on all aspects of U.S.-Muslim relations, nor a defense of our point of view. if the spirit is thought by some to be overly generous and humble, so be it. it gave me hope that civility has not been completely abandoned.

Chaplain (12)
All of the sudden this list is nothing more than a generalized contribution to the areas. OK, I must have misunderstood the President’s remarks: “It was innovation in Muslim communities THAT DEVELOPED the order of algebra, our magnetic compass and tools of navigation, our mastery of pens and printing, our understanding of how disease spreads and how it could be healed” (see EMPHASIZED WORDS). For someone touted as a great orator, he seems to speak a bit out-of-turn rather often.
I do not seek to be ‘dismissive’ and ‘vitriolic’ regarding the remarks here. I could make the case that a critique (rather than a blanket adoring acceptance) is the non-dismissive approach here. It bothers me that these ‘facts’ were deliberately presented to appease this crowd. Are we to assume that because his intentions are good that his words do not carry weight? This is very much an ends-justify-the-means approach, which is a very slippery slope indeed.
My latter point was not that he did not include American achievements to the world in this particular speech per se (though we could probably list a few). Rather, my echoed comment asserts my disappointment that this current sitting US President has never been that proud of his own country in ANY of the speeches he has made in his lifetime. (And if you believe that he has, I wish that you would point them out to me – a list this long of our greatness, rather than the continual listing of our failures.) This bothers me greatly, and spits in the face of American Exceptionalism.
And since I’m in the middle of another comment, I was also bothered by the President’s bemoaning of one country’s success over others – that all nations should have equal outcomes. The only way this is possibly achieved is the stripping away of personal freedom and incentive to succeed. So – as a lonely conservative voice on this blog (but certainly not a minority in this country) – I find this speech very disturbing to say the least.

MIC…
You are not alone.
It will only be a matter of time, perhaps when Obama forgets his teleprompter, that we will discover the true motives and beliefs of the man.

I was very grateful for the strong affirmation of non-violence as the *only* means of effective conflict resolution. Three cheers for the speech, on that point alone.

I thought the speech wsas masterful; it was balanced,truthful on all sides, didn’t play on simplistic analyses and rhetoric, and was a model of clarity. It was the product of mature American reflection on a complex issue: realist and pragmatically idelist at the same time.

:mic, I really don’t know why I’m even wasting my time responding, but you need to seriously check your facts. And I suggest you do so from some reputable source, not talk radio.
For instance, in regard to algebra, that most certainly did not come from the Greeks. They were masters of geometry. Nor did it come from ancient Babylon. (I’m not sure what a possible source for that idea might be.) And I’m at a loss to even know what you mean by an “ancient English culture”, much less its contribution to the realm of mathematics.
Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (ca. 800-ca. 847) is one of the most famous of the early Islamic mathematicians. It’s largely thanks to his work that we were all introduced to and now use the Hindu numeric systems called “Arabic” because those of us in the West mistook their true origin. However, it was his revolutionary book on resolving quadratic equations with proofs given as geometric representations or a new form of numerical expression that actually gave us the word “algebra”. The work was titled “Kitab al-Jabr w’al-Muqabala” (transliterated into the Latin alphabet) or “Rules of Reintegration and Reduction”. “Algebra” was derived from al-Jabr.
The rest of your “facts” are of similar quality.

@ Mic,
Please help me understand your assertion that “this current sitting US President has never been that proud of his own country in ANY of the speeches he has made in his lifetime.”
in light of one of Obama’s statements from this very speech:
“The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known.”
The full context reads:
“America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words – within our borders, and around the world. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: E pluribus unum: “Out of many, one.”
“Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President. But my personal story is not so unique. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores – that includes nearly seven million American Muslims in our country today who enjoy incomes and education that are higher than average.”
To state that your country is one of the greatest sources of progress the world has ever known sounds like a statement of national pride to me. To state that his own personal story, which on many occassions in other places has stated “would not be possible in any other country on earth,” is just one example of the promise of opportunity that exists for all who come to our shores sounds like a strong and proud endorsement of our country.
What am I missing?

Scott (17)
Thanks for the response. While I understand your wanting to quickly dispense with my statements (and my credibility) by assuming my facts were from ‘talk radio’ I must confess that my information comes from my years of education (despite my experience in public school!) . . . in other words, these thoughts ran through my mind when I initially heard the speech, not because I listened to like critiques. I have since gathered other responses which are similar, but these facts are not regurgitated.
I don’t exactly know how to respond here – in an epistemological war – but your ability to cite specific names isn’t as dismissive of my facts as you make them appear. Algebra has its origins in Babylon. Where do I verify this? The dictionary. The encyclopedia. Even Wikipedia gets this one (though I shudder to appeal to its credibility). The fact that somebody was an ‘influential mathematician’ and that the word is Arabic doesn’t dismantle my point.
Bentley (18)
Thanks for your response. And thank you for finally providing an example of the President speaking something positive of his own country. My remaining difficulty is that this comes on his apologizing tour for the atrocities of his country. While these made for good opening remarks, later he is apologizing for our reaction to 9/11 . . . claiming that it was fear and anger which provoked us to act in ways contrary to our tradition and ideals. We should have no need to defend our actions against terrorists, nor should we spend time ‘reaching out’ to them.
Another quote: “Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail.” My comment previous (13) speaks of American Exceptionalism, and this statement undercuts it. Many people want to believe that an ‘all-equal-outcome’ across the world is the biblical ideal, but it does not work that way in reality. True freedom is more than a singular theological or political concept. It is the complete and total liberation of spirits once held captive to great powers, oppression and depravity. And this cannot guarantee equal outcomes, lest we strip away the drive of the human spirit. The President’s remarks are built on the assumption that our country has violated other nations in its journey.
What you might be missing out of my perspective is that it doesn’t appear as though this President can place comments in a fuller context which is not a criticism of his own country. And he is becoming unique in the fact that he increasingly apologizes and criticizes his nation while in the company of those who dislike us (cf also Chavez).
And, it appears from this morning’s newsfeeds that his speech is already being dismissed by many of those to whom it was intended to reach. Why aren’t his words healing?

mic #13 complains that Obama’s speech “spits in the face of American Exceptionalism”
I have not yet heard the speech, but if Obama did “spit in the face of American Exceptionalism” he should be applauded by Christians for spitting into the face of an idol, and one of the most pernicious idols that infects the American church. The only exceptional nation from a Biblical standpoint is the “new Israel” (of every tongue, tribe, and nation) formed around Jesus.

[my final comment on this, so say what you will]
I was wondering when the misunderstanding of American Exceptionalism would surface. Simply defined, this concept is the recognition of the achievements of this country in comparison to the rest of world history. It is not a belief that our country is divinely appointed to be of special place above all of the other nations. Rather it is the recognition of thanksgiving directed to God for the divine blessings of liberty which have been secured through our Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
It is built on the concept that ANY people can achieve great things when they are free to live as God intended. Or is it coincidence that we have accomplished more in the past 233 years than the entire course of human history in the previous 5000. This is not because America is great, but that it is blessed for constructing a government built on the divine gift of liberty. So, I’m not sure why you would be happy at the demise of this by the President.

Norm (#14), you got your wish! (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8149320.stm) Obama lost his teleprompter and had to keep talking! Woohoo. Unfortunately for you, though, he didn’t freeze up and admit to being the Antichrist. Oh well, maybe next time . . .