Obama: more needed to improve Muslim ties

JAKARTA, (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama  said yesterday much more needs to be done to repair frayed  U.S. relations with the Muslim world in an acknowledgement of  the difficulties in eradicating “years of mistrust.”
In a speech highlighting a nostalgic visit to Indonesia,  where he spent four years as a young boy, Obama spoke fondly of  his formative years in the world’s most populous Muslim  country.
“Indonesia is a part of me,” said Obama, who left around  10:45 a.m. (0345 GMT) for the G20 summit in South Korea, the  next stop on a 10-day Asia tour.
”]His speech was an update to a major address he gave 17  months ago in Cairo where he declared a “new beginning” in  U.S.-Muslim relations after the tensions over the Sept. 11,  2001, attacks and the Bush government’s response to them.
Since his Cairo address, irritants remain on both sides. Al  Qaeda still seeks to attack its Western enemies. Little  progress has been made in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian  dispute and U.S. troops are still in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Confidence in Obama has dropped in many Muslim nations as a  result.
“In the 17 months that have passed we have made some  progress, but much more work remains to be done,” Obama said.
Obama said “no single speech can eradicate years of  mistrust” but he promised, “No matter what setbacks may come,  the United States is committed to human progress. That is who  we are. That is what we have done. That is what we will do.”
On the Middle East specifically, Obama said the  Israeli-Palestinian peace process faces “enormous obstacles”  after he relaunched talks in September only to see the dialogue  bogged down over disputes between the parties.
“But let there be no doubt: we will spare no effort in  working for the outcome that is just, and that is in the  interest of all the parties involved: two states, Israel and  Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.”
Obama was being forced to cut short his twice-postponed  visit to Indonesia by concern that an ash cloud from the deadly  Mount Merapi volcano would prevent Air Force One from taking  off in time to attend the G20 summit in Seoul.
But his curtailed schedule still allowed time for a visit  to Jakarta’s national Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in southeast  Asia, and his speech at the University of Indonesia.
Speaking to a crowd of thousand that cheered him like a  rock star, Obama said Indonesia served as a powerful example as  an emerging democracy working to develop its economy and a  Muslim nation that is tolerant of other religions.
“Your achievements demonstrate that democracy and  development reinforce one another,” he said.
Obama has been greeted as a returning hero in Indonesia,  where he moved with his mother in 1967, a sharp contrast after  the heavy blow he received at home in mid-term elections on  Nov. 2, when rival Republicans scored big victories over his  fellow Democrats.
He peppered his speech with Indonesian words and phrases,  drawing frequent applause and cheers from the mostly yung  audience.
Indonesia is the second stop on Obama’s four-country tour  of Asia, which ends on Nov. 15. Obama was also received with  adulation in India, his first stop, where even critics were  charmed by the U.S. leader and especially his wife, first lady  Michelle Obama.