GN Commentary: June 9, 2009 - President Obama & the Muslim World

So where is all this leading? Will the antagonism between the United States and many Muslims recede? Will it even disappear? And, of course, the big question: will there ever be real peace in the Middle East?

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Video Transcript

It was a remarkable speech! Last Thursday, June 4, US president Barack Obama delivered a landmark speech to a largely Muslim audience at Egypt's Cairo University.

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He received vigorous applause as he entered the hall, and perhaps more importantly, a standing ovation as he left. He emphasized his middle name—"Hussein"—and his Muslim connections. He seemed to cover every base: security for the Jewish state, respect for Islam, withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, an end to suffering for the Palestinians, opposition to violence, extremism, Holocaust denial, and settlement expansion. Short on detail it may have been, but high on eloquence it was, too. Time will tell if that speech has a lasting effect on America's battered image in the Middle East and in the Muslim world generally.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the next major item of news from the Mideast came just three days later, as Lebanon went to the polls on Sunday. The pro-western bloc delivered a surprise defeat to the pro-Syrian and pro-Iranian alliance, led by the extreme Shiite movement Hezbollah. Opinion polls had shown the pro-Syrian group in the lead. Its defeat may make president Obama's Mideast agenda an easier one.

So where is all this leading? Will the antagonism between the United States and many Muslims recede? Will it even disappear? And, of course, the big question: will there ever be real peace in the Middle East?

The answer to the last question can come from only one source: Bible prophecy. The Holy Scriptures tell us what will take place in the medium to long term: that the Middle East will continue to be a focus of tension and conflict right up to the time of the return of the Messiah. There may be an ebb and flow of tensions and violence in that part of the world, but the problems aren't going to go away, till Jesus Christ, the "prince of peace," brings lasting salaam or "shalom" to the Middle East and to the world.

For GN Magazine, I'm Ralph Levy.