Arab Americans Lukewarm on Ideas in Obama's Mideast Speech

posted on: May 20, 2011

Arab Americans had mixed feelings about President Barack Obama’s speech Thursday on the Middle East, saying that although they applaud his support for democracy, they thought he was inconsistent in criticizing repressive regimes and fell short in supporting the rights of Palestinians.

“It’s promising to see an American President publicly and seriously support democratic movements in the Arab world,” said Imam Hassan Qazwini, head of the Islamic Center of America, the largest mosque in metro Detroit. “It gives hope for millions of Arabs in the Middle East.”

But Qazwini and others wondered why Obama was completely silent about countries like Saudi Arabia, a country critics say promotes extremism and intolerance.

“I was a little disappointed that countries such as Saudi Arabia were not mentioned at all, even though it is known for its human rights abuses,” Qazwini said. The imam also said Obama was too soft on Bahrain, whose government has cracked down on pro-democracy movements.

Dr. Yahya Basha of West Bloomfield, a native of Syria and Arab-American leader, called Obama’s critical comments of Syrian President Bashar Assad weak and outdated.

“It was too little, too late,” Basha said.

Warren David, publisher of Arab Detroit, said he had a “lukewarm” reaction to Obama’s speech, calling it “business as usual” because it wasn’t strong enough in addressing Israeli occupation.

Robert Cohen, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit, said of Obama: “We share his hope that democracy and peace will soon prevail throughout the Middle East.”

Cohen said Obama “repeated and reaffirmed the unshakable commitment of the United States to Israel’s security.”

Niraj Warikoo
Detroit Free Press