Obama strikes the right tone on interfaith dialogue
The eyes of the world are on President Obama and his Middle East trip. Many observers, myself included, find it a hopeful sign that he is being so intentional in reaching out to Muslims; it is too much of an understatement to say this is an emphasis that has been lacking in American foreign policy in recent years. In fact, Obama has an enormous job in front of him if he truly hopes to repair the image of the United States and forge the “new beginning,” that he spoke of in his speech in Cairo today.
The speech, given at Cairo University, covered an impressive range of topics and was notable for its candor about the challenges that face us as a global community. He did not avoid addressing the differences between the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the threat posed by Iran, the problem of Israeli settlements in the West Bank,…
