First of all please enjoy this wonderful photo album from Vagabond blogger who attended the speech, I think she was from the few bloggers who managed to capture those moments in Cairo university hall.
Second this is a small attempt to gather most reactions from Egypt, , Middle East and America.
From Egypt , as I said over and over may be Obama has won the hearts with his charisma but Egyptians still have minds , they are waiting from actions. In the Face book you find most Young Egyptians were moved by the speech. In the Egyptian Blogsphere things were different, most bloggers whom I have read yesterday and today were against the speech , of course I have not read every single blog in our blogsphere but the sample I saw was enough. They did not buy this talk for reasons similar I mentioned in my thoughts about the speech and even more. Of course I must mention that some of them like Hossam Hamalawy and Nawra did not welcome the visit in the first place.
Newspapers were divided ; the official newspapers cheered for the historical speech where as the independent newspapers were 
From the Middle East there were mixed reactions , the Israeli reactions were shocking to me because after all those flattering phrases about the strong bond between the States and Israeli and the Holocaust denial talk it seems that many Israelis believe that Obama was biased to the Arabs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope I know more about the opinions of the Arabs and Muslims across the world. L.A Times published quick posts about the speech here and there. BBC Arabic opened a discussion about the reactions and opinions of Arabs regarding the speech, it is very interesting indeed.
I found an interesting post from Turkey by a Turkish journalist who believe that this speech was a PR stunt and the real important message was in the speech in Turkey !!! I do not know why when I read his post I remember immediately that big Turkish ego thing. The Istanbulian says that both Saudi Arabia and Egypt were bad choices G.W Bush would have chosen because they are corrupted and dictatorships , well the Egyptian will fire back on the Istanbulian on behalf of her Egyptians and Saudis saying that you should not criticize because Turkey has its own black human rights record itself !! My dear Istanbulian , Obama did not come to address the secular world but rather the Islamic world, he did not come to address the governments but the people .
To Europe , France did not like this indirect reference as a liberal country that does not respect the freedom and choice of Muslim women in wearing the veil.
To UK Robert Fisk , our dear friend is speaking about the words that could heal wounds of centuries. It is highly recommended.
The United States’ reactions are mixed also, here is John Stewart , of course I want to correct something that that Knights reception was in Cairo at Kasr El-Kobbah and it seems to be a tradition associated with the Presidential Palaces like El-Kobbah and Abdeen “Former Royal Palaces”
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Looking for Comity in the Muslim World | ||||
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I love the part where that Fox Blonde says “They do not like us !!” The Neocons do not like this at all and I am not surprised for this either , it is widely expected. The liberals are happy for the speech and that reception Obama received.
The Neocons seriously do not like the speech at all , in the past 24 hours I received silly emails and comments in which I had to reject ; man is saying couple of good words about the Islamic civilization did to this world hurts too much !!!! It seems so.
In the end I am more eager to know about more reactions from the Islamic and Arab world.
تركيا أفضل من مصر بكتير لأوباما
ReplyDeleteلكن المصالح
Thanks for the plug. I was emailed by a student, who said they were told no phones and no cameras, whereas we were told phones and cameras were okay, but no bags or personnal items whatsoever. Strange. A man sitting next to me told me I was in the midst of "who's who" in Egyptian / Cairo society, and I had no idea who any of these people were (he actually pointed them out to me.) As an American my opinion doesn't really matter, and I've been watching the tube to gauge Middle East / Muslim reaction. I just hope, regardless of whether this was a PR campaign or not, that the world sees us as a country of change. I believe, if Obama spoke to such a large audience, that his intentions are what he said they were. According to Zbigniew Brzezinski (Pres. Carter's National Security Advisor, who consulted with Obama during the campaign) on MSNBC: if Obama said it, this is policy.
ReplyDeleteتركيا مش افضل لاوباما ولا حاجة، هو نشن على المعاتيه صح، التلوث اكل مخنا
ReplyDeleteهههههههههههههه
بس انا عجبتني الدعوة
يتشرف كل من شيخ الازهر ورئيس جامعة القاهرة بدعوتكم الى حفل زفاف الآنسة المصونة والجوهرة المجنون مصر على السيد باراك حسين اوباما
وذلك بقاعة الاحتفلات بجامعة القاهرة
والعاقبة عندكم في المسرات
ممنوع حضور الاطفال
@Mido , why ??
ReplyDelete@Vagabondblogger, well I know from my friends who went that they did not bring bags ,they only depended on their mobile phones camera. Well for sure the audience included the big names in our society , only big in time of Muarak I am afraid like for instance for all those extra from actors and actresses but there were big names the American Embassy was keen to invite for journalists and thinkers.
@Nawra, lol
The posts on your blog with reactions to Obama's speech are typical. There is much criticism now in the US that Obama bent over backwards. His speech was all about what the West should do and has done wrong, with very little about what the Arabs should do. Very little is expected of the Arabs from his speech. The reactions on your blog that his speech was just words and now you have to see actions is so typical of your culture. Perhaps the Arabs have done wrong; has that thought ever occurred to you? Apparently your culture predisposes you to not accept responsibility for your actions. Arab terrorists bombed the World Trade Center and have committed terrorist acts worldwide since 9/11 and before, yet it is the Arabs who act as the victims. Omaba's speech was also full of falsehoods regarding alleged Arab contributions to civilization; he perhaps should look for new speechwriters.
ReplyDeleteWhat responsibility should we claim !!?? Shall we accept the invasion of our countries because of 9/11 and the murder of civilians like what happened in Iraq !!?? Thousands of Iraq were killed and millions had to leave the country because of the Neocon's abuse to 9/11
ReplyDeleteMy dear check the history of Mathematics,Algebra, Chemistry and physics before speaking about the alleged Arab contributions to civilization
You clearly object to the presence of American troops in Iraq. I can agree with you on that point; I also object. I am also in favor of the US and other western countries withdrawing their troops. The result would be that all the factions in Iraq would proceed to start killing each other, which does not bother me in the least. As for alleged Arab contributions to civilization, I said before in a prior post that those contributions were the contributions of Christians and Jews living under Arab rule. I think it is you who should check history, other than whatever distorted views are presented in the few books published in Arab countries.
ReplyDelete@anonymous,as if they did not start killing each other in the time of the occupation !! For God sake for decades all those ethnics and sects in Iraq in harmony without any foreign troops ,they do not foreign troops to keep them together !!
ReplyDeleteAs for the Arab scientists please check out this post ,it is not about contributions but includes names of Muslim scientists and these are just few
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2009/04/wikipedia-is-iranian-agent.html
say whatever you want but you can't change history however you try
We do not claim something that is not ours , the translation movement in the Arab world had its great contribution but it was mainly focusing on philosophy
I think that a scientific study should be conducted on in what ways the religion of Islam causes people to be unable to think logically and accept responsibility for their own actions. By the way, Egypt receives every year a fortune in American aid, but I have never heard a word of gratitude from anybody in Egypt about that fact. I guess that is not in accordance with your culture of whinning and victimhood. I am sure that you can attribute the giving of this financial aid to some nefarious motive. I await to hear it with anticipation.
ReplyDeleteI think you did not read the post I referred too , too much for logic thinking !! How do you know that Islam causes people to be unable to think logically and accept responsibility !!?? from where !!?? Strangely that great civilization that endured for centuries in the Old world was based on logical and accepting the responsibility !! I will give one example Ibn Rashud the great Islamic Philosopher in Arab Spain , this man's books were banned for centuries in Europe because his theories in which I studied in high school discuss the identity of God and equality between Man and Woman !! This is illogical thinking you are speaking about !!??
ReplyDeleteRegarding the American aid ,check this post
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2009/03/andrew-sullivan-speaks-about-usaid-to.html
Believe me if it were in my hands I prefer not to take this big aid where as the American people are in desperate need of it right now
Again, you are going back centuries to cite alleged Arab contributions. What about today? Where are your contributions? It is so pathetic. You cannot challenge me on the facts so you attack me personally.
ReplyDeleteYou are the one who is speaking in terms of history , I have not attacked personally and i do not know why you considered me attacking you personally
ReplyDeleteYou want our contribution now well may be the Islamic countries are facing troubles now thanks to dictatorship but look to the Muslims when they are given the opportunity and what they can achieve , you have got Dr.Ahmed Zawil, Dr.Mustafa El-Syad, Dr. Mohamed Yunis, Dr. Al-Arian and Dr. Farouk El-Baz, this gentleman was among the team of Apollo 11 ,Dr. Farouk El-Baz is the son an Islamic Azhar Cleric.
Zeinobia,
ReplyDeleteI adore your blog, it's so informative and you are so down to earth. You know you're doing something right when you're pissing off the bigots ;)
Another influential Muslim is economist Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen bank. He won the Nobel Peace prize 3 years ago.
In an earlier comment regarding this story you said that you would prefer that Egypt not accept the large financial aid that it receives annually from the US. The US gives billions to Egypt annually. What on earth would Egypt do without this money? The Egyptian people produce very little aside from religious fanaticism, intolerence, and self-pity. You downgrade the grave problems faced by the Copt minority in Egypt as aberrations. I doubt very much that the Copts would feel the same.
ReplyDelete@banoota,thank you so much dear.
ReplyDelete@anonymous, I do not know from to start but clearly you do not know nothing about the financial resources or economic resources , we got too much to produce more than you think
Regarding the Copt minority , I do not downgrade it , I put it in its real size, of course you will be surprised to know that I work with Copts in my office everyday and you know something they are the ones who are angry for these claims !!
I doubt that they know that there are many successful examples from Christians to our society from ministers to public figures to doctors to scientists to businessmen to actors to writers.
Those examples and they are too many to be mentioned in single comment surely do not suffer for any religious repression as you claim.
Dear anonymous the Egyptian population whether Muslim or Christians suffer from injustice and dictatorship which does not differentiate between a Muslim and a Christian
If Egypt is so econimically and financially successful, I wonder why hoardes of Egyptians and other Arabs are immigrating to the United States and Europe in mass. I have never heard of any immigration in the opposite direction from the U.S. or other Western countries to Egypt or other Moslem paradises.
ReplyDeleteYour own example shows how unproductive Egyptians are. You say that you work in an office, yet you apparently spend a tremendous amount of your working time on your blog. This concept may be foreign to you, but in Western countries when people have jobs they are expected to actually work at them.
ReplyDelete@anonymous,
ReplyDeleteyou do not me know in personal nor my work and you say that I am unproductive because I am just Egyptian Muslim and my blog seems to be good !! Now look who can't find anything and started a personal attack !!
regarding our imigiration , I do not know if you are aware that most of the Arab Muslim countries are ruled by dictators "mostly backed up by the West" who are stealing their countries' wealth and are oppressing their people giving them few options to live among which to leave their countries
Strangely Dubai was attracting more westerners than easterns before the financial crisis !!
Here we go again with the culture of victimhood and self-pity. You blame the West for allegedly backing up dictators. Did it ever occur to you to look at Arab culture and at the question whether there is something in Arab culture which keeps most of the Arab world in abysmal conditions? Apparently the fact that there is no true Arab democracy on the face of the earth is solely the West's fault.
ReplyDeleteAccording to your worldview, Zeinobia, and those of those Arabs who post comments on this blog, every problem the Arab world has can be traced at its root to the West; always the West. The ability for self-criticism is a sign of a modern, progressive culture. I see very little, if none, self-criticism of Arab culture on your blog.
ReplyDeleteHave you read every post on this blog so you can generalize this conclusion with big words !!? Have you followed every single book or newspaper or even event in our part of the world to reach to this conclusion of big words ??
ReplyDeleteI am proud of my Arab culture and I feel sad that you clearly know nothing about it except from ill informed biased websites ,channels and books
"While Muslim and non-Muslim spokesmen have spilled oceans of ink since 9/11 asserting that Islam condemns "terrorism" and the killing of "innocents," without defining what is meant by either term, no one has ever produced any examples of authoritative and orthodox Islamic religious scholars rejecting, on Islamic grounds, jihad violence against non-Muslims; rejecting the idea that Sharia law should be instituted in the Muslim and non-Muslim world; and teaching the idea that non-Muslims and Muslims should live together indefinitely as equals." (Robert Spencer)
ReplyDeleteAs I said in an earlier comment, you exhibit another facet of Arab culture. When you encounter somebody who objects to certain aspects of Arab society you resort to sweeping generalizations, calling my sources ill informed and biased, without any backup.
ReplyDeleteIslam produces deep ignorance, deep ingratitude (Muslims have their basic human rights most protected in non-Muslim Western lands) and various degrees of jihad. All Islam is inimical to freedom, democracy, tolerance and equality under the law. If there is anything more despicable than Islam, I don't know what that might be. Islam is the world's greatest burden and Muslims, parasitic as they are, remain clueless about this. Shame on all Muslims. No exception
ReplyDeleteTo the last anonymous , so what is your suggestion to get rid from us ??
ReplyDeleteStrangely as a Muslim I do not look to you as you look me
and more strangely my religion makes me think twice before replying to you or any other racist neocon so I will not lose my temper or become rude just like you.
Dear anonymous we are not going any where so deal with that.
@anonymos.......you talk as if egypt or egyptian people are no good and have done nothing good. you are obviously forgetting ancient egypt. one of if not the most advanced civilisation in world history. ancient egyptians were building amazing structures while many peoples in europe were living in mud huts. you talk as if its only egyptians and other middle easterners who move to the US but what about the peoples who have moved/invaded the middle east.....starting way back in time with the greeks, romans, persians, assyrians, islamic conquests and more recent peoples from countries in europe like france and england. egypt was the gem of the islamic world for many years. why would so many massive and important empires chose to colonise a country you claim to have nothing to offer. the fact is, egypt does have alot to offer. peace
ReplyDelete