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| Author: | Alaa Al Aswany |
|---|
February 7, 2009
President Obama is clearly trying to reach out to the Muslim world. I watched his Inaugural Address on television, and was most struck by the line: "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers." He gave his first televised interview from the White House to Al Arabiya, an Arabic-language television channel.
But have these efforts reached the streets of Cairo?
One would have expected them to. Mr. Obama had substantial support among Egyptians--more than any other American presidential candidate that I can remember. I traveled to America several days before the election. The Egyptians I met in the United States told me--without exception--that they backed Mr. Obama. Many Egyptians I know went to his Web site and signed up as campaign supporters.
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