Reactions to Obama's Speech, Collected by AP

By The Associated Press – 48 mins ago
Notable reaction to President Barack Obama's speech Thursday to the Muslim world:
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"President Obama is a brave president. ... We hope he will open a new chapter with the Islamic world and Arab nations in particular." — Mithwan Hussein, a Baghdad resident.
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"Bush and Clinton said the same about a Palestinian state, but they've done nothing, so why should we believe this guy?" — Ali Tottah, 82, who is originally from the West Bank town of Nablus, speaking at the Baqaa refugee camp in Jordan.
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"There is a change between the speech of President Obama and previous speeches made by George Bush. But today's remarks at Cairo University were based on soft diplomacy to brighten the image of the United States." — Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza.
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"The Obama administration is focused on whether to strike Iran or not, as if the core problem in the region is Iran. But it totally forgot the Palestinian issue. Let Obama solve the Palestinian problem first, then he can strike whoever he wants." — Ibrahim Hreish, a jeweler in Amman, Jordan.
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"Why did he not come here to Gaza, instead of going to Egypt? He is welcome to come and see, to inspect with his own eyes, to see the war crimes and the new Holocaust." — Mohammed Khader, 47, whose house in Gaza was leveled by Israeli troops during the recent three-week offensive against Hamas.
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"It was actually better than we expected, but not as good as we hoped. ... His stance on democracy was very general, a bit weak, we hoped for more detail." — Ayman Nour, an Egyptian dissident recently released from prison.
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"Obama is clearly admitting that Bush's military offensive in Iraq was a mistake." — Said Lacet, 56, a civil servant in Algeria.
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"It still was a speech about what America wants. Maybe that's only natural, because he wants to protect American interests in the region. ... But I really do believe he envisions a world that is pluralistic, where different religions can live peacefully together, with respect, as he himself experienced in Indonesia." — Edi Kusyanto, a teacher at the school in Indonesia where Obama went as a child.
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"The part of Obama's speech regarding the Palestinian issue is an important step under new beginnings. ... This is the beginning of a new American policy and this policy is creating a new atmosphere to build the Palestinian state." — Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
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"He was very generous in his comments about Islam's contributions to civilization. ... There also hasn't really been any other Western leader who has expressed such commitment to fighting negative stereotypes regarding Muslims." — Chandra Muzaffar, president of the International Movement for a Just World think-tank in Malaysia.
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"This vision is so out of touch with reality. ... You can have your speechwriters find every good thing a Muslim has every done. But more modern history is that the Muslim world is at war with the Western world." — Aliza Herbst, 56, a spokeswoman for Yesha, the West Bank settlers' council.
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"It was very positive. A president with the middle name of Hussein being in Cairo talking about collaboration means a lot for Muslims. It will influence people." — Malek Sitez, an international law expert in Kabul, Afghanistan.
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"It's one of the most important speeches ever delivered, a key speech for changing the climate in the Middle East. Israel will make a big mistake if it ignores it and doesn't use it to generate a new dialogue with the Muslim world." — Yuli Tamir, a dovish Israeli lawmaker from the centrist Labor Party.
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"I don't trust him. He's just trying to apologize to Muslims because of what America — or really Bush — has done in the past. He's promising to be different. But that's all it is, a promise. We want action." — Wahyudin, the director of a hard-line Islamic boarding school in Jakarta, who goes by one name.