MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Obama reaches out to the Muslim world in Arabic network

'Americans are not your enemies'

President Barack Obama chose an Arabic satellite TV network for his first formal television interview on Monday as president, part of his drive to repair relations with the Muslim world.

"I have Muslim members of my family," he said in an interview with Al-Arabiya, the Dubai-based Arab television channel. "I have lived in Muslim countries" and insisted "Americans are not your enemies". This concerted effort to reach out to the Muslim world and the Middle East was set during his inaugural speech when he offered Muslims a "new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect." On just his sixth full day in office, Obama's first exclusive interview went to a major Arab network. "People are going to judge me not by my words but by my actions and my administration's actions," Obama said. The interview was aired as Obama's new envoy to the region, former Sen. George J. Mitchell, arrived in Egypt to find a permanent solution to the Arab-Israeli problem. Obama said he felt it was important to "get engaged right away" in the Middle East and had directed Mitchell to talk to "all the major parties involved." His administration would craft an approach after that, he said. "What I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating," Obama told the interviewer. Dealing with topics pertinent to the Arab and Muslim worlds, much of Obama's interview was spent defining the new approach that the United States would implement in the region: respectfulness over divisiveness, listening over dictating, engagement over militarism. Taped Monday night at the White House, Obama reiterated a pledge to speak to Muslims from a Muslim capital within his first 100 days, but did not specify where it will be. He also called for talks to resume between Israel and Palestinians and said he still envisions a "contiguous" Palestinian state. On the campaign trail, however, he declared his support for an undivided Jerusalem, which leaves the question of where this contiguous Palestinian state would have its capital. The Arab stance is that Arab Jerusalem â€" home to Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site â€" must be the capital of this Palestinian state. The president also refrained from criticizing Israel for the civilian toll of its recent campaign in Gaza, despite an outcry among Muslims, and he emphasized that the US is and will remain a solid ally of Israel. When asked about Al-Qaeda, Obama called its idea "bankrupt" and said the society that these extremists envision is socially destructive. "There's no action that they've taken that say a child in the Muslim world is getting a better education because of them, or has better health care because of them," he said. Obama said the US had made mistakes in the past but "that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that." He emphasized the importance of engaging with Iran, while condemning Iran's threats against Israel, pursuit of nuclear weapons and support of terrorist organizations. But in a departure form his predecessor's stance that Iran cannot be negotiated with, Obama said diplomacy is important to resolving this conflict. "It is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran, to express very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential avenues for progress," he said. In contrast to the enthusiastic reception Obama's victory has garnered around the world, the Arab world has been much more cautious about the new US president â€" with most Arabs sceptical that US policy in the region will change substantially. But Hady Amr, director of the Brookings Doha Center, an arm of the US think-tank in the Qatari capital, told reporters that the decision to make the first presidential interview with an Arabic news network was "stunning." "President Obama has made it absolutely clear ... that a central priority will be repairing US relations with the Muslim world," he said. "If that's his objective, I'd say he's been hitting home run after home run." In the interview, Obama talked about growing up in Indonesia, the Muslim world's most populous nation, and his Muslim relatives. The president reiterated the US commitment to Israel as an ally and to its right to defend itself. But he suggested that both Israel and the Palestinians have hard choices to make. "I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people," he said. Obama restated the United State's unique relationship with the Jewish state but refused to say that such a relationship limited the prospect for peace in the region. "Israel is a strong ally of the United States," said Obama. "They will not stop being a strong ally of the United States. And I will continue to believe that Israel's security is paramount. But I also believe that there are Israelis who recognize that it is important to achieve peace. They will be willing to make sacrifices if the time is appropriate and if there is serious partnership on the other side".