Barrack Obama's Speech at Cairo - Essay Example

Egypt, according to the White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, was the best choice since it is a nation, according to the United States, that represented the heart of the Muslim World. This remark was made despite Egypt not being at the “center” of the Islamic world. This was because Egypt besides being considered as playing an integral role in the process of peace making in the Middle East, it was also the best choice of delivering the speech, since it is the major recipient of the American military as well as the economic aid.

However, if Obama were to make his speech today, Egypt would have been his last choice. This is because of the recent revolution that took place in overthrowing Mubarak from power. Many reporters such as Ross Colvin of Reuters asserted that the speech was an avenue of mending the relationship that existed between the United States and the Muslim world, which was considered to be severely damaged during the tenure of George W. Bush. In his speech, Obama centered on six major issues. This paper is going to highlight personal opinion on which of the six was the most important and whether Obama made convincing remarks.

Main Highlights of the Speech In his speech, Obama advocated for mutual relations and understanding between the Muslim world and the west, by suggesting that the two entities should be at the forefront in facing violent extremism. Obama acknowledged the fact that there existed tensions between the United States and the Islamic world, which were rooted in historical forces. According to him, the Muslim world and the United States had enjoyed centuries of co-existence as well as co-operation. However, they also faced a lot of conflict of interest and religious wars.

In this opportunity, Obama yearned for peaceful co-existence between Israelites and Palestinians. In this regard, Obama vividly affirmed the alliance that the Americans had with the Israelites, which he referred to as an unbreakable bond. Additionally, he was uncomfortable with the aspect of statelessness that prevailed in Palestine by terming it as being intolerable. Consequently, Obama recognized the Palestinian aspirations for attaining a stable state that enjoy dignity and legitimacy, which he figuratively equated to the Israel’s desire for a Jewish homeland.

As pinpointed earlier in this paper, Obama’s speech was subdivided into six main areas that included violent extremism, the dispute between the Palestine and Israel, nuclear weapon, religious freedom, rights of women as well as economic development. According to me, of the six main areas of his speech, the main aspect was that of violent extremism. This is because almost all other points of the speech can be channeled towards violent extremism. For instance, the dispute between the Palestine and Israel, nuclear weapons, religious freedom and rights of women can all be summed up to lead to violent extremism.

Obama tackled this issue categorically in the speech by advocating for a level ground between the Muslims and the United States. He commenced by giving a quote from the Quran that calls for Muslims to be conscious of God and to always speak the truth. The issue of violent extremism, according to me, was an important aspect because it affects almost