Obama has completed the third and final leg of his “Islamic World” ‘Odyssey’. In his speech from Turkey he stated that America was not at war with Islam. He visited Saudi Arabia, the ‘birth place of Islam’, for advice from his majesty, King Abdullah, on how to address the “Islamic World” on issues including but not restricted to, Democracy, Womens rights and tolerence.
He ended his tour, in Cairo, where extreme security measures were undertaken, where students were pre-emptively arrested, detained and huge security measures enforced in the City leaving the city with one of the most densely populated cities in the World, with empty streets.
Whilst many commentators have welcomed his open approach, his olive branch to Iran on Nayruz, to the Arabs and Muslim majority countries calling for mutual interests and murual respect to be reknewed, his shift from militant rhetoric, his recognition of Muslim contributions to America and the World at large, and his assertion that he will close down Guantanomo bay etc, other commentators have rasied legitimate concerns.