Obama: U.S. "Will Never Be At War With Islam"
President Obama used his personal story as a means of reaching out to the Muslim world today, saying during a speech at the Turkish Parliament that the United States "is not and will never be at war with Islam."
Speaking in a country that bridges East and West, Obama sought to bridge a divide that had grown between the United States and the Muslim world, a relationship he hopes to expand to one of "broad engagement based on mutual interests and respect."
"We will listen carefully, we will bridge misunderstandings, and we will seek common ground," he said. "We will be respectful, even when we do not agree. We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world."
It was here that he noted that many Americans have Muslims in their families or lived in Muslim-majority nations. "I know, because I am one of them."
Earlier, he praised Turkey's unique status as a majority-Muslim nation with a secular government, and praised the progressive steps it has taken recently as it aspires to membership in the European Union. Among them, greater protection for the rights of minorities - a subject that again brought a reference to his history-making election.
"Robust minority rights let societies benefit from the full measure of contributions from all citizens. I say this as the President of a country that not very long ago made it hard for somebody who looks like me to vote, much less be president of the United States," he said. "It is precisely that capacity to change that enriches our countries."
Curiously, he compared the steps Turkey has taken to ones he has taken in his own brief time as president - ordering the closing of Guantanamo Bay and an explicit prohibition of torture.
"All of us have to change. And sometimes, change is hard," he said.
Obama did conclude with an acknowledgment that rhetoric alone will not ease tensions, and reinforcing a message from his inaugural address, he noted that some will only answer to a clenched fist.
"There are some who must be met by force. But force alone cannot solve our problems, and it is no alternative to extremism," he said. "The future must belong to those who create, not those who destroy. That is the future we must work for, and we must work for it together."
Obama will conclude his European trip tomorrow in Istanbul, where he was scheduled to hold a virtual town hall meeting with young people throughout the world.