Everyone knows Obama can make a fine speech.  But this one was truly historic and is likely to be remembered long as much for its respectful tone and tenor as its refreshing content. 

Standing up in Cairo, a city that is steeped in history and Arab-Islamic tradition, Obama reached out and touched the hearts of a billion Muslims—a feat no Western leader, let alone a US president, has accomplished before.  

He is no superhuman though.  As he tried to point out in the countdown to his historic Cairo visit, he couldn’t have addressed and solved in asingle speech all the issues and problems plaguing the US-Islam relations.  Yet he tried to cover just about everything in his marathon, nearly an hour-long speech: From the Palestine-Israel conflict to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and from Iran’s nuclear programme to promoting democracy and human rights in the Middle East, he said all the right things and with right 
emphasis. 

As expected, he threw his weight totally behind an independent Palestine, asking Israel to end the occupation and freeze the Jewish settlements in strongest terms ever.   Of course, for the audiences back home, he had to temper it by talking about the historical persecution and suffering of Jewish people and slamming those threatening to obliterate Israel. 

Asking both the Israelis and Palestinians to recognise and respect each other’s right to exist and freedom, he emphasised that the two-state solution was in the interest of everyone – Israel, the Arabs, the United States and rest of the world. Obama signalled a clear break from the past as he softened the US stance on Hamas, asking the Islamists to recognise Israel’s right to exist and pursue their struggle peacefully to join the peace process.  No wonder the Islamists have been quick to welcome the overtures, comparing Obama’s speech to that of Martin Luther King Jr. However, more than the Palestine-Israel conflict, which remains the biggest issue facing the region, the thrust of Obama’s overall argument was the building of bridges between Islam and the West. 
 He repeatedly emphasised that the US is not at war with Islam, underscoring the shared values, beliefs and history.  

From paying rich tribute to the Arab-Muslim contribution to the world civilization, science and philosophy to highlighting the role of Muslim Americans in his nation’s progress, Obama went to great lengths to underline that what unites Islam and West is much more than what separates them.  Revisiting the message that he first unveiled in his inaugural address, and which he repeated in his recent speech to Turkey’s parliament and first interview with Al Arabiya, Obama offered ‘a new way forward’ with the Muslim world. 

Stopping short of condemning his predecessor’s policies and actions vis-a-vis Muslim world and apologising, he offered a “new beginning” with Muslim world based on “mutual interest and respect.”  That message was heard and registered, loud and clear, across the Muslim world, from Morocco to Malaysia. And over the next four years, the US leader will be watched keenly by the Muslim world to see how close he comes to implementing this revolutionary and refreshing vision.  Obama’s real test lies ahead.