UPDATE: Reactions from The New York Times from young Muslims:

Sulafah Al Shami, a 19-year-old Jordanian, watched the speech on Al Jazeera in Amman, Jordan:

The speech that President Barack Obama gave at Cairo University was very interesting and refreshing. It was definitely a big break from the tone and style that President Bush employed in addressing the Arab world.

Ingy Hassieb, a 19-year-old Egyptian, watched the speech in Alexandria, Egypt.

I like his positivity — the way he addressed the pros of Islam instead of the cons was a great and very logical way to start off. The way Islam is portrayed in the media right now is very one-sided and President Obama managed to acknowledge the distinction between extremism and Islam.

Samura Atallah, 20, a Jordanian of Palestinian descent, watched from the American University in Cairo’s dormitory in the city’s Zamalek neighborhood.

The reference to Koran Islamic history all [through] the speech will make citizens realize that the new administration is more well-informed on this part of the world than the previous [one], and with better knowledge comes more significant change.

Kholoud Khalifa, 22, who majored in journalism at the American University in Cairo and describes herself as an “Egyptian-Austrian Muslim,” watched the speech in Mohandesien, Egypt.

Now I’m not saying he is bad or evil, because that is far from the truth. But let’s not deny that his primary goal is to serve U.S. and Israeli interest and we only come in second. He said it himself “a speech won’t eradicate years of mistrust.”

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Today marks the start of Obama’s much anticipated Middle East tour, beginning with a stop in Saudi Arabia.  He is expected to ask King Abdullah for gestures towards Israel to help advance the peace process, but Saudi experts say that he will most likely be refused with the argument that the Arabs have offered enough and that Israel must now offer something itself.

After Saudi Arabia the President will move on to Cairo, where he will deliver his much anticipated keynote speech.  James Traub of the New York Times notes that Obama has done well for himself straddling the line between closing divides between the U.S. and non-democracies and serving as a symbol of American democracy, but that this will be almost impossible to do in an authoritarian state like Egypt, where “the people feel crushed by the state.”  Obama may be forced, then, to take a more definite position on his likeness to his predecessor in terms of democracy promotion: missionary or semi-passive symbol? (Or he may choose to continue playing both sides).

Another focus of his speech will undoubtedly be the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and as the division between Israel and the U.S. seems to be widening, Obama will definitely be able to make use of his strong position on the two-state solution (which the current Israeli government does not openly support) and settlement freezing to appeal to Egypt and the rest of the Muslim world.  Making a point of standing up to Israel will certainly make him somewhat more palatable to Arab leaders, but in practice the chances of it advancing much of anything is unlikely.

It seems that it will be most sensible for Obama to continue in his amicable line of diplomacy, condemning nobody, offering no black and white solutions to the Middle East conflicts and using whatever hooks he can to connect with his audience, the greater Muslim world.  Whether this will prove a viable political tool is yet to be seen.

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