CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group said that there was nothing new in the speech US President Barack Obama addressed to the Muslim world from Cairo University on Thursday.
According to a statement, they said that Obama used strong words to appeal to the emotions of Arabs and Muslims.
They accused Obama’s allusions to verses from holy Quran of being part of his public relations campaign to enhance the image of US in the Arab and Muslim worlds and “shift Arab attention away from all the wars and crimes . especially in Palestine.
“However this is not enough, since words do not serve the Arab and Muslim world justice and will not bring Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan or Pakistan back, the group said.
Mohamed Mahdy Akef, the MB’s supreme guide, said that the only way for the Arab world to regain its land and its rights is by becoming powerful and self-sufficient.
He also criticized Obama’s continued support for Israel to assure “its safety and confirm its existence as a state. On the other hand, he did not show support for Palestinian resistance groups and their legal fights against the Israeli occupation .By doing this he [Obama] is following his predecessors in his bias for Israel.
The statement also criticized Obama’s take on economic problems and unemployment describing it as “very generic.
Obama’s words on democracy, the statement read, ignored many “Arab and Islamic political regimes that are built on dictatorship and corruption.
The MB’s Secretary General, Mohamed Habib, told Al-Jazeera TV channel that the MB wants to see Obama’s actions and that his words don’t count.
“Politics is not built on talk, statements or speeches, but on actions, Habib said, adding that if American policy doesn’t change on the ground then this speech is useless.
Brotherhood MP Saad El-Katatny, however, said that the speech carried positive signals for change but cautioned that no one can judge the speech until “we see real implementation of what was said and promised.
Al-Katatny also expected Obama to elaborate on how to achieve two states Palestine and Israel.
“He did not tell us how this can be achieved or on what basis the two states will be established, Al-Katatny said.
