Al-Arabiya gets the word from The One.

President Obama has given his first formal interview as President to the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya network, presenting a conciliatory image to the world and backing away from any confrontation.




Excerpts from the transcript:
And so what I told him is start by listening, because all too often the
United States starts by dictating -- in the past on some of these issues --and we don't always know all the factors that are involved. So let's listen.

Right, the US has been dictating to the Middle East whenever we have been involved with the numerous peace proposals. We never listen...that's our problem...Carter "dictated" that the Shah should be replaced by a terrorist ayatollah and then, of course there was all that dictating at Camp David. Reagan, Bush, Clinton, all dictators of peace.....

I think Hillary Clinton has expressed this in her confirmation, is that if we are looking at the region as a whole and communicating a message to the Arab world and the Muslim world, that we are ready to initiate a new partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest, then I think that we can make significant progress.

I think its clear by now that the Muslim world has little "respect" for the US. And as to "mutual interest", how does one have mutual interests with absolutist organizations like HAMAS?

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. But if you look at the track record, as you say, America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that.

If the Muslim world does not understand that yet, then THEY are the ones that refuse to understand. 50,000,000 Muslims liberated. Tyranny fought on behalf of Muslims from Croatia to Afghanistan. And relationship with the Muslim world 20-30 years ago was TERRIBLE. 1979? Remember a certain hostage crisis brought about the missteps of another President that refused to see reality? 1989? Conflict with Libya, terrorism, and Salman Rushdie under threat of death.

I think that you're making a very important point. And that is that the language we use matters. And what we need to understand is, is that there are extremist organizations -- whether Muslim or any other faith in the past -- that will use faith as a justification for violence. We cannot paint with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in that faith's name.

This answer was based on a question about the term "islamic fascism.: Of course the language we use matters. He implies that Bush "painted with a broad brush," which of course, he did not. Bush was very careful in stating that the majority of Muslims were peaceful. He bent over backwards trying to demonstrate his belief that Islam was "peaceful" against all evidence. Even with a five year decrease, over 100,000,000 Muslims approve of "suicide bombings."
And then, Obama has to bring up "other faiths." Yep, I've been following the new about those suicide bomber nuns and murderous Buddhists.

Peace will arrive when the jihadists renounce the intention to rebuild the caliphate. Until then, this is all smoke and mirrors. When the Muslim world agrees with the Western world on the same definition of peace, then we will see the end of terrorism. Jihadists have the long view. They believe that the West will eventually capitulate and Islam will be the dominate force/religion in the world.

And with refusal of the West to stand up to the Muslim demands for separate sharia-based communities, and for Muslim demands that western communities adapt to them instead of the immigrants assimilating into their new countries, I believe that they may be right.

Unless the West starts to take the words of the faithful as spoken, and the words of the Koran as written, the West will continue to misunderstand. "Radical" muslims are nothing more than faithful Muslims that believe that the Islamic faith must be exercised as it was under Mohammad. They believe that if Muslims "return" to the pure faith, mu slims will triumph. Arafat said such things. HAMAS and Hezbollah and Al Qaeda say such things. The Muslim Brotherhood says such things. And the "moderates" do nothing. Because they cannot dispute the "fanatics" with writings from the Koran. The Koran backs up the "fanatics" and the moderates do not wish to be ostracized and targeted. Even if a small percentage of Malaysians agree with the "radicals", that's 19 million people.

Negotiation does not work when a) one side does not negotiate in good faith, which in fact, is based on Koranic instructions to the faithful when negotiating with non-believers and b)one side wants nothing more than your death or capitulation.

Obama is living in a dream world. If he was a Muslim while living abroad, then he will be considered an apostate. And if he was not a Muslim, he's just another infidel. Treaties and negotiations are allowed, but, only with the goal of advancing Islam.

While the majority of Muslims want to live in peace, unless they assimilate in their new countries, even peaceful Muslims want their communities to change to a sharia based community, and thereby destroying the very western ideals and freedoms that originally let them move to that country.

Until the Islamic world rejects the ideals of Jihad or the West loses, there will be no peace.

h/t Gateway Pundit and Politico

UPDATE: The Palestinians respond to the One's message of Al-Hopiya, Al-changiyah