I was curious what response the Hisham Melhem interview of President Obama was generating in the Muslim world. Did Obama's attempt to reach out have any apparent success? The results I viewed were hearteningly positive, though expressed with considerable caution, and not without criticism of Obama (e.g., for not speaking out on the Gaza conflict). I was limited to English-language sources, and didn't have time to make an exhaustive search even of those; still, I hope the following will help to give some perspective, however imperfect, on the reaction to Obama's initiative among Muslims where, IMO, it counts the most. I'm hoping some Kossacks with relevant expertise will be able to comment authoritatively and put the quoted newspapers in a larger and more-accurate context.
The "Greater Kashmir" newspaper accurately and extensively quoted Obama's interview, and stated:
Obama’s interview was seen widely in Pakistan and has received a generally positive response from analysts there.
Islamabad author and journalist Imtiaz Gul told CNN: "It’s a good sign of an attempt to reconcile with the Muslim world, to say America wants to reach out to them and not to consider them as an enemy." Analyst Zaid Hamid said that Obama has yet to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world. Hamid said the real litmus test for the Muslim world is what Obama does with the crisis in Gaza.
http://www.greaterkashmir.net/...
In Indonesia, the Jakarta Post extensively reported and quoted from the interview, noting in the second paragraph:
Obama's choice to give his first formal sit-down television interview as president to Al-Arabiya signaled a new American approach in the region.
The Jakarta paper also stated:
In contrast to the enthusiastic reception Obama's victory has garnered around the world, the Arab world has been more cautious about the new U.S. president - with most skeptical that American policy in the region will change substantially. "I can't be optimistic until I see something tangible," said Hatem al-Kurdi, 35, a Gaza City engineer who saw parts of the interview. "Anyone can say nice words, but you have to follow with actions."
After earlier dismissing Obama as following the same policies as Bush, officials from the militant Palestinian Hamas group, which rule the Gaza Strip, softened their stance. "In the last couple of days there have been a lot of statements (from Obama), some of them very positive, and choosing this George Mitchell as an envoy," said Ahmed Youssef, a senior Hamas official interviewed on the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news network. "I think there are some positive things we have to count."
http://www.thejakartapost.com/...
Al Arabiya, the Arabic-language network whose reporter Hisham Melhem interviewed Obama, included in its report the following:
Breaking with his predecessor George W. Bush, who had a penchant for adopting terms like Islamofacism and crusade that heightened tensions with the Muslim world, Obama underscored the importance of language and repeated the importance of listening as a part of communication.
"[M]y job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world that the language we use has to be a language of respect," he said.
However, al Arabiya went on to criticize Obama, saying
his continuing silence on the enormous amount of civilian casualties during the Israeli offensive and accusations by the U.N. and humanitarian organizations that Israel committed war crimes also spoke volumes to an audience that has waited for America to take a more balanced approach to the conflict.
http://www.alarabiya.net/...
UPDATE: I'd urge folks to visit these informative diaries as well:
Decatur's diary, Arab Media Crash Course: Obama's Interview
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Geomoo's diary, Last Night We Spoke Directly to Iraqis,
http://www.dailykos.com/...
I was surprised when this diary made the Rec List last night (I'm not used to it), and somewhat shocked to wake up and find this still on the Rec List today, but I recognize that's mainly due to the quality of the commentary, from which I've learned a great deal (as I had hoped when I wrote it).