Obama urges new beginning with Muslims and solution to Mideast

TEXT:  Obama’s historic speech in Cairo

VIDEO PART I: Obama's historic speech

VIDEO PART II: Obama's historic speech

VIDEO PART III: Obama's historic speech

VIDEO PART IV: Obama's historic speech

"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 U.S. president said in a major speech at Cairo University.

"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," he said. "America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition."

His speech came as part of the new administration's efforts to restore the tarnished image of the United States among the more than 1 billion Muslims around the world, damaged by former President George W. Bush's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the treatment of U.S. military detainees.

Obama had pledged to make a speech to the Muslim world during the first months of his presidency. The choice of Cairo for the speech underscored Obama's focus on the Middle East, where he faces huge foreign policy challenges, including ending the war in Iraq, trying to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and curbing Iran's nuclear program.

PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI CONFLICT

Obama, who is hoping to build a coalition of Muslim government to back his diplomatic moves, urged the sides in the Palestine and Israel conflict to favor compromises to reach a two-state solution.

For decades the issue has been in a stalemate as the legitimate aspirations of the two sides, each with a painful history makes compromise elusive, he said, adding, the only resolution is for the ambitions of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.

"The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them – and all of us – to live up to our responsibilities. Palestinians must abandon violence... At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," he added.

He also urged Arab States to recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities.

"The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel's legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past... It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true."

EXTRACTS FROM KORAN

Obama had divided his messages in the 56-minute-long speech into seven topics that he wants address in the historic speech. He shared his personal experience regarding the Islamic religion as well as make references to Koran, the Muslim religion’s holy book.

The common confrontation with the violent extremism in all of its forms, including the latest situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Arab world; nuclear weapons, the international conflict on Iran's nuclear program; democracy; religious freedom; women's rights and economic development and opportunity were the topics he covered.

"All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort – a sustained effort – to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings," he said.