Obama calls for ‘new beginning’ with Muslim world

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CAIRO, EGYPT — Seeking to unite Muslims from Indonesia to Morocco to Detroit around common goals of peace and dreams of a brighter future, President Obama Thursday called for a new beginning for the United States and Islamic world.

“We have a responsibility to join together on behalf of the world we seek a world where extremists no longer threaten our people, and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own, and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes; a world where governments serve their citizens, and the rights of all Gods children are respected,” he said to an audience of about 3,500 at Cairo University.

“Those are mutual interests. That is the world we seek. But we can only achieve it together.”

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Mr. Obama pushed for Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program and said both Israelis and Palestinians must work together for peace.

He said the United States is willing to move forward with Iran without preconditions, but would stand firm on the nuclear issue. He wants a world in which “no nations hold nuclear weapons.”

“The question, now, is not what Iran is against, but rather what future it wants to build,” Mr. Obama said. “This is not simply about America’s interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.”

Mr. Obama also pointedly said anyone who denies the Holocaust killed millions of Jewish people during World War II are “ignorant” and “hateful,” a reference to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

To punctuate his call for a two-state solution to end the stalemate between Israelis and Palestinians, Mr. Obama used the often avoided term “Palestine.”

He lauded the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel but said “the pain of dislocation” for Palestinian people who live daily without peace or security is “intolerable,” and pledged America would not turn its back on them.

“The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met,” he said, to applause, promising he would pursue that solution with patience.

“For peace to come it is time for them and all of us to live up to our responsibilities,” he said.

He said Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israels right to exist.

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