![]() That is what it means to share this world in the 21st Century. When innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience. When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same holy Quran that one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, kept in his personal library. They've won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building and lit the Olympic torch. And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims. ![]() In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second president, John Adams, wrote, The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. I also know that Islam has always been a part of America's story. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires, timeless poetry and cherished music, elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. 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 can be healed. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground. I know there's been a lot of publicity about this speech, but no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust nor can I answer in the time that I have this afternoon all the complex questions that brought us to this point.īut I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors. I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. Instead, they overlap and share common principles, principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings. I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. And this cycle of suspicion and discord must end. ![]() So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. The attacks of September 11, 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.Īll this has bred more fear and more mistrust. Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. ![]() Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam. 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. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation but also conflict and religious wars. ![]() We meet at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the world, tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. And I'm also proud to carry with me the good will of the American people and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: Assalamu-alaikum. I'm grateful for your hospitality and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. ![]()
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