SEO Header Title

 By Anne E. Derse

U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan

BAKU. February 4, 2009: President Barack Obama, from the first minutes of his presidency, has extended America’s hand to the Islamic World, an offer of respectful dialogue and engagement aimed at erasing misunderstanding and distrust.

“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect,” said President Obama, during his inaugural speech.

In the early days of the new administration, the President set out to synchronize the tone with deeds: he took steps to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which had become a negative symbol around the world.  And he called upon two of America’s most distinguished statesmen – former Senator George Mitchell and long-time diplomat Richard Holbrooke – to serve as special envoys to the Middle East and Afghanistan/Pakistan, respectively.

He announced that within his first 100 days in office he will travel to a Muslim capital.  And, in a clear signal to the Muslim world, President Obama’s first press interview was scheduled with the al-Arabiya network rather than one of the principal U.S. news organizations. 

“My job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives,” he said in the interview.  “My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy.  We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect.”

President Obama is well-suited to act as this bridge between America and the Islamic world.  As the son of an African father and middle-American mother, he speaks often of his childhood in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation.  He reminds Americans of his Muslim relatives, of his heritage that crosses from East to West, South to North.

The United States today is a proud nation.  Americans are proud, really, of themselves, as the high ideals and dreams of our forefathers have come closer to reality.   As a nation, we have made a step toward that “more perfect union,” where every son, every daughter, has the opportunity to grow up to be president.  Our sad history of slavery and segregation remains part of our history – but making strides to overcome that past is part of our strength, a cause for celebration.

This celebration has been joined beyond the shores of America.  Barack Obama has promised that American foreign policy will remain true to American values.  “As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.  Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charger to assure the rule of law and the rights of man – a charter expanded by the blood of generations.  Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience sake,” he said during the inaugural. “And so, to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation, and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity.  And we are ready to lead once more.”

The United States has worked alongside Azerbaijan to battle extremists and hateful ideology.  From Kosovo to Iraq and Afghanistan, our troops have helped bring peace and justice to nations in trouble.  At the Organization of the Islamic Conference, we have stood together to denounce those who would use the holy name of Islam for carrying out extremist agendas.

While the challenges facing the world today are immense – with conflict still raging from Gaza to Kabul and generalized economic crisis – we will make progress if we work together.  That is the promise of this new day in America (Turan).