President Obama’s middle name of Hussein caused quite a stir among many conservatives during his election campaign; some even ventured to call him a “secret Muslim terrorist.”  These ridiculously ignorant (“Hussein” is as common a name among Muslims as “Smith” is among Americans, and Obama is not Muslim) and offensive (the vast majority of Muslims do not support terrorism) rumors fortunately constitute a minority view. But at the same time, they can undermine diplomatic efforts to convince Muslims in other countries that the U.S. is truly interested in extending its hand out to them in peace.

This factor, combined with strong support for Israel, ongoing wars in two Muslim countries and a history of shameful behavior (Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo) feed anti-American sentiment in countries with majority Muslim populations. In 2006, the Pew Center revealed the scope of the damage: merely 27% of Pakistanis, 15% of Jordanians and 12% of Turks expressed “favorable opinions of the U.S.”, and many more doubted that Arabs attacked the U.S. on 9/11. This is the rocky foundation – or rubble – on which President Obama is trying to reconstruct American relations with the Muslim world.

During his Inaugural Address, Obama stated that the US wanted a “new way forward [with the Muslim world], based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”  This proposal took more solid form when he decided to give his first interview as president to Saudi TV station Al Arabiya on January 26, six days after taking office. During the interview with respected journalist Hisham Melhem, Obama expressed praise for his Special Middle East Envoy, George Mitchell (Nobel Prize winner and former Senator who helped negotiate a peace in Northern Ireland) and emphasized that “we cannot paint with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in that faith’s name”, showing his objective view of Islam. Indeed, Melham himself told Al Arabiya afterwards that Obama sees the world as changing and also has experience living in a Muslim country (Indonesia), so that “his view of the Islamic world will be different from that of previous American presidents.”

Now that President Obama has met with the leaders of some Muslim-majority countries, what progress has he made, if any? This article will look at his meetings with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iraq, and touch briefly on current events in Iran and the Holy Land as well.

SAUDI ARABIA

 Meeting during the G20 summit, President Obama and King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia discussed many issues underlying the “long-standing, strong relationship” between the US and Saudi Arabia, according to the White House Press Office. The topics included “the global economy, regional political and security issues, and cooperation against terrorism.” 

Obama showed his “appreciation for Saudi Arabia’s leadership in promoting the Arab Peace Initiative,” originally approved in Beirut in 2002 at an Arab summit. The Saudi newspaper Al-Nadwa stated its hope of Washington putting more pressure on Israel to end their settlement policies and comply with this peace initiative. Similarly, Al-Yum newspaper described “the keenness of the Arabs on reaching a fair and just settlement based on a comprehensive peace and land-to-peace principle that leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.” The White House said that the two leaders would continue to work together on these and other issues.

TURKEY

During his two-day trip to Ankara (their D.C.) and Istanbul (their New York), President Obama met with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, signaling, according to the Economist, Turkey’s “western credentials” and “emergence as a regional power that matters.” 

Turkey has a strategic importance for the US that is almost unmatched in the world, as the crossroads between Europe and Asia, and, as a secular Muslim-majority country, an example of Islam and democracy co-existing in a free-market society. Indeed, Turkey has served as “a conduit for messages between America and Iran” as well as a “transit hub to American troops” both in Afghanistan (where it has 900 soldiers) and Iraq.

The decision to include Turkey in his Europe itinerary was also a clear signal of President Obama’s support for Turkish entry in the EU, even though this position has irritated EU allies like France.  Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, in an article entitled “Obama good for future ties with US”, quoted political observers as saying that this was a strategic and “meaningful” choice demonstrating “that the new administration sees Turkey in the European axis.”

Obama spoke to the Turkish Parliament, as well as with opposition party members, with an important part of his message dedicated to reassuring Muslims that the US “is not at war with Islam.”  Talking of Americans who had Muslim ties, Obama stated, “I am one of them” (referring to years in Indonesia and his Muslim grandfather) which caused wild applause by politicians. According to Time, he also spoke with Turkish students, emphasizing the importance of converting words into actions with regards to promoting understanding and peace.

Part of understanding involves being honest, and Obama certainly was with regard to the Armenian “genocide” of 1915. During his speech to Parliament, while avoiding this poisonous word, he did confirm that his views (that it was a genocide) were “on the record” and “unchanged” but encouraged negotiations between Turkey and Armenia to continue. Turkey’s former Ambassador to Washington Nüzhet Kandemir told Hürriyet that “a serious head of state does not change views overnight.”

The President was praised by many for not referring to Turkey as a “moderate Islamic country”, as the Bush Administration had said, for this angered secularists and Islamists alike, according to Turkish journalist Asli Aydintasbas in an op-ed to the New York Times. Rather, Obama commented on the country’s diversity as one of its strengths saying that the US-Turkish alliance could be a “model partnership.” Aydintasbas said that, in stark contrast to Bush, Obama was a “folk hero” in Turkey due to his Muslim roots, and that his embrace of Turkey’s diversity.  Turkish-US ties seem to be improving. 

IRAQ 

In a surprise five-hour visit to Baghdad after his tour of Turkey, President Obama was greeted enthusiastically by US troops, whom he thanked for their “enormous” sacrifices and contributions that “have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country”.

 The Washington Post reported that Obama, in his first visit as commander in chief, emphasized that Iraqis “must take responsibility for their country” and encouraged them to “resolve their differences through constitutional means and legal means” rather than fighting. Some of the outstanding issues causing conflict include the distribution of oil wealth as well as disputed territories in northern Iraq between Arabs and Kurds.

Obama met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at Camp Victory to discuss the situation, with Maliki stating that “dialogue should be the only way to resolve any issue.” The Post quoted political scientist Nasayef Jassem as approving of “American pressure on the Maliki government to take serious steps toward reconciliation.” The Post also interviewed Sgt. Justin Roark, who said that “Obama’s visit lets us know that he still has us on his agenda as one of his top priorities.”  With this in mind, Obama restated his pledge to withdraw US troops by the end of 2011, clearly emphasizing that the US “pursues no claims on Iraqis’ territory and resources.” 

Indeed, as the U.S. winds down its efforts there, there are signs that Iraq is making progress – at least compared to the utter chaos of only a couple years ago. The February provincial elections took place without any major incident, which is encouraging. Another recent example is the gradual conversion to electronic banking. As the Economist reported, this change “should help woo investors from abroad and pep up the economy as a whole.” But there remains violence throughout the country, with a suicide bomber killing 26 people in Anbar on an army base just yesterday.

Obama’s challenge thus is to continue working with Iraqi leaders as well as American generals in order to make sure that the American withdrawal will be as calm and responsible as possible, with the hope of a stable, democratic Iraq that endures.  His first presidential visit there seems to have made a good impression. The Foreign Policy Association stated that his visit to Iraq “was important in pressing Iraqi leaders to accelerate the process of political reconciliation and boost morale among America’s forces.” Let’s hope the progress continues.

IRAN

After Obama’s Iranian new year Nowruz video greeting and offer of a “new beginning” in March, there was reportedly a  sideline meeting at the Hague between Richard Holbrooke and Iranian Mohammad Mehdi Akhoondzadeh, since denied by Iran but claimed by the U.S. Since then, Iran has shown a willingness to “propose a nuclear package” and said it would be open to talks with the U.S., Russia, China, France, U.K. and Germany on its nuclear program.

But with Iranian elections coming up in June and President Ahmadinejad contested by reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi, nothing is for certain, especially in a country ultimately run by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. However, Mousavi recently said he would be willing to negotiate with the U.S. Only time will tell if Iran would be willing to stop enriching uranium as a prerequisite for talks. As the New York Times reported, the Obama administration is considering dropping this condition altogether. This could be a risky strategy, but EU officials stated that “Iran would not accept the kind of immediate shutdown of its facilities that the Bush administration had demanded.”

ISRAEL/PALESTINE

As for Israel, U.S. envoy George Mitchell is there now visiting new conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and right-wing Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, and soon Palestinian leaders as well. Their Israeli government is generally more hostile to the idea of a Palestinian state, but lately they have showed flexibility, with BBC quoting Netanyahu that “Israel expects the Palestinians to first recognize Israel as a Jewish state before talking about two states for two peoples.”

Mitchell assured Israel of American support, and herein lays the difficulty. This could certainly pose a challenge to an Obama administration trying to reassure the Muslim world of its good intentions while simultaneously continuing a policy of close support of Israel – apparent contradictions, or delicate diplomacy, that Obama will likely have to navigate.

So where does that leave Obama? Not into the Promised Land of success in foreign policy in Muslim countries, but his personal background and understanding of Islam as well as his openness and multi-lateral approach has made Muslims happy the world over.

In my own experience teaching English in the banlieue of Lyon, France as well as in a mosque, North African youth look at him like an urban legend and with a respect never shown towards George W. Bush. The fact that the leader of a nation attacked by Islamists can be named Barack Hussein Obama speaks a lot for our country and shows a new openness. That is an improvement in itself.

But will it be enough?

The Middle East is a region of conflict – some would say perpetual – with war in Iraq, conflict in Lebanon, Israel and Palestinian territories, not to mention an Iran with nuclear ambitions, and further East, a nuclear and very unstable Pakistan with a strong insurgency fanning the flames in Afghanistan. President Obama has a lot on his plate, but so far in the three months since his Inauguration, he has taken steps towards improving the situation, at least in repairing some of the wounds between America and the Muslim world. It will improve more, insha’allah (God willing).

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