The global Muslim Brotherhood continues to react to the election of Barack Obama. The Egyptian Brotherhood website posted the following statement by Hamas:
The Hamas Movement stated Wednesday that it will judge the new American president Barack Obama by his actions and positions towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not by his electoral agenda.In an exclusive statement to the PIC, Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, called on the new US president to reconsider the American foreign policy towards the Palestinian cause and to change his country”s bias in favor of Israel at the expense of the Palestinian rights.
An earlier statement on the election by Hamas had said that “No matter who wins Tuesday’s US presidential election, US policy in the Middle East will remain the same.”
A Muslim Brotherhood spokesman also issue a somewhat more positive statement than earlier reactions:
“I’ve listened to the address made by Obama this morning and I was highly impressed by his charisma and his ideas,” he said. “I compliment Mr. Obama and this was a very big victory for himself and also for the American people and I think it will be a great victory for the whole world if he can change America and go to change the world.” “I think after the massacres done by the previous administration of Mr. Bush Jr., I think this will be a new era for the Arabs and the Muslim world for their relations with the USA. We hope that Mr. Obama can change the strategy of America towards the Arabs and the Islamic world, and mainly to be committed to his promise to withdraw from Iraq and to look to the Palestinian issue by another view … thirdly to stop the support for the previous administration, since more than 60 years, to the tyrants of the Arab and Islamic world and to stop support to dictatorship,”
Many of the various U.S. Muslim Brotherhood organizations also issued positive statements, some containing hints at the organizations’ agenda. For example, the statement from the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) expressed a desired to be consulted by the Obama administration:
“CAIR, America’s largest Islamic civil rights and advocacy group, offers its congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama on his historic election to our nation’s highest office. President-elect Obama’s victory sends the unmistakable message that America is a nation that offers equal opportunity to people of all backgrounds. “While congratulating President-elect Obama on his win, we also recognize the heavy burden placed on those in a leadership role. To be effective, any person in a position of authority needs the support and sound advice of those he or she leads. “We look forward to having the opportunity to work with the Obama administration in protecting the civil rights of all Americans, projecting an accurate image of America in the Muslim world and playing a positive role in securing our nation.”
A statement from the Muslim Pubic Affair Council (MPAC) alluded to the role of Muslim Americans in the Obama victory as well as echoing its wish to work with the Obama administration:
It is a profound testament to the abilities ogf so many record numbers of Americans to embrace their democratic rights and responsibilities to determine their next leader. We are proud of the record numbers of Muslim American voters who went to the polls to cast their vote and rallied to get their family and friends and communities to get involved and get out to vote. “An important and emotional moment in the history of our nation is unfolding as we speak,” said MPAC Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati. “We are proud to live in a place where, as President Obama said tonight, ‘all things are possible.’ The enormity of these challenges is a shared responsibility of all Americans and we hope that we can work together to face the challenges.” …MPAC also congratulated tonight the more than one million projected Muslim American voters, and the legions of volunteers all around the country who put so much energy into registering, educating, and mobilizing people to fulfill their democratic responsibilities.
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) also expressed its desire to work with the Obama administration.
European Brotherhood organizations have also reacted to the Obama victory. This statement by the Scottish-Islamic Foundation appears to contain an allusion to the “Jewish lobby” in the U.S.:
“Barack Obama hasn’t just swept to victory in his country, the whole world was urging him on. I don’t know if we are all blue states now, but certainly the rhetoric that there is one United States can be extrapolated globally – “George W Bush has been an enormously divisive figure during his tenure in office. President-elect Obama has the potential to heal. Some are cynical about whether he can bridge the gap between words and deeds, and whether he can beat down the various lobbies to have the US play a genuinely positive role in the world. He must be given a chance. “Certainly things can’t be worse than the last eight years, from the war in Iraq to Guantanamo Bay and torture sites around the world. He’s also promised some really positive action on climate change and we hope this comes to pass. “Ultimately, he is a figure that just through his skin colour and name, never mind his speech, challenges the world’s perception of the US. It’s up to him to capitalise on that, unite peoples, and bring positive change to the world.”