Barack Obama Arrives in the Middle East

Image by Shabbir Siraj via Flickr

President Barack Obama is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, en route to Cairo.

There is no doubt that this is an important mission, and may well be pivotal in turning the tide in Arab/Muslim-American relations. He will be making a much anticipated speech in Cairo. The Muslim world senses that Obama is sympathetic to their feelings and aspirations, and is looking forward, if tentatively, to more concrete actions.

For too long, the US has been totally indulgent to Israel, right or wrong. And when it was wrong, many lives in the Middle East were the price that had to be paid. The Arab world, as well as other Muslim nations and peoples, have felt discriminated against, slighted, side-lined, brushed off and even demonised. These have become deep-seated feelings of mistrust of the US.

This is a time of repairing the damage that has been inflicted by the Bush administration. This seems to be Obama's objective, but whether he can deliver remains to be seen.

*picture shows the Prophet's Mosque, Al- Masjid al-Nabawi, in Medina, Saudi Arabia