CAIRO: US President Barack Obama’s choosing Egypt for his keynote address to the Muslim world has been described by his advisors as “the next step in his effort to dispel perceptions in the Muslim world that the United States is in conflict with Islam.
In Egypt, however, the announcement was received with mixed reactions. Daily News Egypt took to the streets to find out how Egyptians view the upcoming visit.
“Ever since his election and from day one as president, Obama has been working on improving the image of the US government, first by [his decision to close down] Guantanamo [prison], then shaking hands with the president of Venezuela and visiting Saudi Arabia. And now he is talking about addressing the Muslim world which is something new in American political rhetoric, Sondos Talaat, a political science graduate, said.
“For Obama to choose Egypt as the country from which he would address the Muslim world is definitely something great on the international level. But in my opinion this is even greater on the regional level because it shows the rest of the Arab countries that Egypt is still the regional leader – responding to recent claims that Saudi Arabia is replacing it, businessman Samieh Ghoniem said.
“This is a gesture that shows how the Obama administration will reinstate Egypt’s vital role in international politics and as a leader in the Arab world. Egypt has accomplished so much and this shows how the Obama administration appreciates Egypt, Noreen Tawakol, who works in the trade sector, said.
Sayed, a taxi driver, wasn’t as optimistic. “It’s not the first time for an American president to come to Egypt. All of those before him came and yet nothing has happened. The world is still ‘them versus us.’ We are still all terrorists in their eyes . But at the end of the day and just like whenever there is a new US president, we hope this time it is different.
Along the same lines, Ahmed Hammamy, an assistant manager at a foreign trade organization, played down the hype that has marked the announcement. He said choosing Egypt doesn’t mean it’s better than its regional counterparts. “They all share the same political ideology: dictatorship.
Egypt was chosen, he continued, because of its key mediating role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
On the other hand, Mohamed Abdel Samad, a security guard, criticized the festive mood that characterized the Egypt’s response to the announcement. “How could an Arab Muslim country be so happy that the American president will visit at a time like this? At a time when our brothers in Palestine are murdered, we shouldn’t even talk to them, let alone be jumping up and down . because they are mocking us.
