Obama's Islamic homage wins praise

updated 5:57 p.m. ET June 4, 2009

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The tone of respect was set from the opening lines of President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim world.

"Assalamu Aleikum" — Arabic for "peace be upon you" — he said, triggering applause from the crowd at Cairo University and bringing nods of approval in places like a coffee shop in the West Bank town of Ramallah, where some began calling him "Abu Hussein" — using his Muslim middle name — as a sign of honor.

Obama's ambitious speech — which sought to define a new relationship between Washington and the Islamic world — also represented an opportunity to shape his own image in the eyes of Muslims. He quoted from the Quran, paid homage to the cultural and intellectual achievements of Muslims and noted his middle name and his father's ties to the faith.

"As the Holy Quran tells us, 'Be conscious of God and speak always the truth,'" Obama said. "That is what I will try to do today, to speak the truth as best I can."

'Sincere and credible'
Whether political stagecraft or sincerity, his gestures resonated strongly among many Muslims who often complain their traditions and culture are devalued in the West and have become overshadowed by Islamic radicals.

"He came across as sincere and credible," said Sheik Muhammad al-Nujaimi, a member of committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that tries to moderate the radical views of jailed militants. He said he plans to give a copy of Obama's address to the inmates with a message: "Muslims should offer help to the new American administration and reciprocate its overtures."

Obama also sprinkled his address with Arabic words that are well-known to all Muslims: "hijab" for the Islamic coverings for women, "zakat" for alms giving, which is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

Even these few references carry powerful significance in the Arab world, where the language is cherished as an important ethnic bond, revered for its connection to the Prophet Muhammad, and filled with elaborate greetings and finely crafted formalities that display respect.

Ring of authenticity
Obama's closing line — "And may God's peace be upon you" — rings with authenticity and cultural sensitivity to Arabic ears.

Video   Obama addresses the Muslim world June 4: President Obama's full address at a university in Cairo, Egypt. Morning Joe

It's not clear whether Obama's address will have a lasting glow. A Jordanian jeweler, Ibrahim Hreish, described its effect as a "drug" that will eventually wear off.

But there were obvious comparisons to Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, whose use of language — such as calling for a "crusade" against terrorists after the Sept. 11 attacks, a term that brought to mind the Christian Crusades against Islam in the Holy Land — helped stir anti-American anger in the Muslim world.

Obama "was fair on basics, soft on tone," said Labib Kamhawi, a political analyst in Amman, Jordan. "He avoided using provocative terms of the previous administration like `war on terrorism.'"

Obama said he was "proud to carry with me the good will of the American people and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country."

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