President Obama states the importance he places on interfaith cooperation in Cairo

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

One might think that hiring an envoy to handle outreach to the Muslim world would be something the State Department would want to tout.

Instead, the move was apparently no news for diplomats at Foggy Bottom, who failed to make the appointment public.

This week Secretary of State Clinton tapped Farah Pandith, who previously worked on Muslim outreach in Europe, to the post, which will deal with the wider Muslim world.

But State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly only confirmed in Indian news reports — only after being asked – that Pandith, a Kashmiri-American, had been selected for the job.

“Yes,” he said. “She’s actually a friend of mine. I worked with her very closely in the European Bureau, Farah Pandith… The secretary has appointed her to more of a global role.”

During his inaugural speech President Barack Obama pledged to seek a “new way forward” with the Muslim world “based on mutual interest and respect,” after eight years of tense relations between Muslims and the Bush Administration. During his speech in Cairo earlier this month, Obama again said he would “seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”

Still, Kelly was unclear on when Clinton tapped Pandith, saying he believed it was within the past few days. Asked why the post had not been made public, Kelly said an announcement was sent out to the “State Department community,” but promised more information.

Xuan Thai
CNN White House Producer

President Barack Obama held a town hall meeting on Thursday in Green Bay, Wisconsin to discuss his health care agenda — but he also took a little time to write an all-important “get out of school” note.

A young girl named Kennedy attended the town hall with her father, who was called on to ask a question.

Her father, John Corpus, started his query saying he hoped his daughter wouldn’t get into trouble for missing the last day of school.

“Do you need me to write a note?” Obama asked.

Clearly assuming that Obama was just kidding, Corpus continued with his question — only to be interrupted by the president.

“No, no, I’m serious. What’s your daughter’s name?” Obama said, as he started to write a note. “I’m going to write to Kennedy’s teacher.”

He then walked over to the girl and handed her the note: “To Kennedy’s Teacher, Please excuse Kennedy’s absence…she’s with me. Barack Obama”

No word yet on whether the president’s get out of school free card did the trick.

Here’s the video…

Eboo Patel
Interfaith Youth Core
AC360° Contributor

In Cairo, President Obama stated in no uncertain terms the importance he places on interfaith cooperation. He also stressed that interfaith work should take the form of concrete service projects:

“Indeed, faith should bring us together. That is why we are forging service projects in America that bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews…Around the world, we can turn dialogue into Interfaith service, so bridges between peoples lead to action – whether it is combating malaria in Africa, or providing relief after a natural disaster.”

For a long time, interfaith cooperation meant a group of senior theologians or religious leaders presenting a document about peace at a conference in a fancy hotel. That’s all good stuff, but I remember going to some of those conferences in the late 1990s and having two questions – where are the young people, and where is the social action?

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U.S. President Barack Obama makes his key Middle East speech at Cairo University

Jami Floyd
In Session anchor

President Obama made a historic speech today in the Middle East. Speaking in Cairo to dignitaries, state officials and university students, Obama sought to reframe the relationship between the U.S. and the Muslim world. Barack Obama is the right messenger to bring a new image of America to the Middle East. He spoke of his Kenyan father’s Muslim faith; he spoke of his childhood in Indonesia; and — unlike here at home — there, in the Middle East he freely used his middle name: Hussein.

They seem to like his style. But what were the sum and substance of his remarks? For those in the Middle East, it is clear. He seeks to rebuild bridges. For us here at home, however, the message is slightly and subtly different. For us, it is to change our mindset; to stop thinking of the Arab world as our enemy and Muslim values as antithetical to our own.

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Program note:

Zainab Salbi is the CEO and founder of an international organization for women

Zainab Salbi shared her views earlier today on CNN Newsroom about how Obama’s speech spoke to Muslim women’s issues. She is the founder and CEO of Women for Women International, an organization that promotes opportunities for women around the world. See her tonight on AC360º at 10 p.m. ET.

Zainab Salbi
on CNN Newroom

It was a good balance between respect of Muslim women, particularly observant women who do believe that their head scarf is part of their Islamic duty, and between addressing and pushing that that should not contradict and indeed it does not contradict with Islamic values of women’s access to education and economic and political rights.

The balance between the two, I would say, calmed the Muslim population at large where it’s often defensive in terms of woman’s issues and pushed them in the meantime of saying you can do more and you cannot build your countries without full inclusion of women and girls.

You do have a very high illiteracy rate in the Muslim world. You have only 55% of Muslim women who are literate and this is very, very actually dangerous statistic. So, him pushing on the literacy issue and on employment. 40 women out of 100 men only work in the Muslim world at large. That’s actually, these are very critical issues that he pushed in it and it was right on and not expected.

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Chuck Donovan and Teresa Donovan
Family Research Council

President Obama will be making his much-anticipated address at Notre Dame this weekend. As graduates of the University of Notre Dame (1974 and 1986), we look forward to hearing what he has to say. We hope, however, that the President, who has taken listening tours overseas, will be open to hearing from members of the Notre Dame community, like us, who strive to speak for a particular group of voiceless Americans.

Besides the two of us, four additional siblings, three brothers and a sister, also graduated from Notre Dame. As a close-knit family that shares the Catholic faith and deep personal values, we’ve talked about the Obama invitation and, to a man and woman, we regret that it was tendered to a politician whose agenda on life issues is diametrically opposed to those values and the faith that informs them. The bestowing of an honorary doctorate on the President aggravates the disappointment, as the university clearly could have foregone this recognition even as it continued its tradition of hosting American presidents at commencement exercises.

University officials rightly point out that Notre Dame is not a partisan institution. It is also true that the election of President Obama represents, both symbolically and substantively, a step forward and away from the history of racial bias that has long divided this nation. If the President speaks to Notre Dame students, as we hope he will, about the role Catholics played in the civil rights movement alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, he will both echo a profound theme of engagement that Notre Dame embraces and encourage others who, in our day, carry on the struggle. Such encouragement is especially needed among those who labor for the civil rights of unborn children.

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President Obama and Turkish President Abdullah Gul hold a joint news conference Monday.

Matthai Kuruvila
Chronicle Religion

President Obama’s speech to the Turkish parliament Monday left Muslims across the United States stunned by the dramatic way he continues to build bridges with their brethren.

“He is uniquely qualified among all the American presidents to really reach out and change the mood of the relationship between America and the Muslim world,” said Akbar Ahmed, a former Pakistani ambassador and now a professor of Islamic studies at American University in Washington, D.C. “He’s the first president to talk about respect for the Muslim world.”

In his speech, Obama recast an often adversarial U.S. relationship with Muslims into other terms – referring to friends or friendship 10 times. It was the most significant in a series of gestures to reach out to the Muslim community since his inaugural address, when he called for a “new way forward” with Muslims “based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”

“The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam,” Obama said to applause, according to a White House transcript of Monday’s speech. “In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical, not just in rolling back the violent ideologies that people of all faiths reject, but also to strengthen opportunity for all its people.”

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Tom Foreman | Bio
AC360° Correspondent

Reporter’s Note: I’m writing a letter every day to the President. It’s not like stalking, because he asked for advice. At least that is what I plan to say to the Secret Service if they come calling.

Dear Mr. President,

A lot of folks have been speculating about whether or not you’re being overexposed by all your news conferences, your TV appearances, that Internet town hall meeting, you Final Four Pick bit, and on and on and on.

I think there is a simple way of knowing. If you are tired of doing it, or people are tired of seeing it, then I guess you are overexposed. If not, have a ball. Why should you let a bunch of folks who are not in the sunlight tell you to step back into the shade? Your popularity and approval ratings remain really high. Every time you are on the cover of a magazine it sells like buckets of water at a house fire. If you were a movie, all the critics would call you a blockbuster.

On the other hand, I kind of get their point. Did you ever have someone come to one of your parties and stay just a little too long, or tell one joke too many, or relate just that one extra amusing anecdote that made you want to knock yourself out with a mallet? No? Well, if you ever invite me you’ll find out what it’s like.

The old saying “familiarity breeds contempt” is often true. I say often, because I’ve shared meals, sofa space, and ping pong games with my wife for more than 22 years. I still love her, and aside from the occasional suggestion that perhaps I should spend more time in the backyard, she tolerates my company relatively well. An aside here: We were at a party one time in Colorado with a bunch of people we didn’t know, and I was telling one of my standards; a droll story about my brother, a raccoon, and a bucket of golf balls, when one guest turned to my wife and said, “He’s really funny. It must be a blast living with him.” She took a swig of club soda, and deadpanned, “Oh yea. It’s a riot.”

I’m getting off track. The point is, you do have to be a little careful about becoming the Presidential Flavor of the Month that everyone decides they are tired of by mid-summer. More importantly, you’ve assembled a team of folks around you for a reason, and that reason is not just the decision making process. They are supposed to be helping you get things done, including getting your message out to America; whether that is on the economy, foreign affairs, health care, you name it.

The country, by and large, loves you right now. But make sure some of your pals help pull the load, before people start looking around saying, “What? Him again?”

I on the other hand, will always be happy to hear from you. So call if you get a moment this weekend. Thinking a long bike ride might be fun. You?

Regards,

Tom

Timothy Geithner announced his plan for taking toxic assets off of the balance sheets of troubled banks.

David Gergen | Bio
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Political Analyst

We have just come off the set taping the next CNN Money Summit to be shown Friday at 11 p.m. (and again on Saturday at 8 p.m.) As usual with Ali Velshi hosting, it was a spirited, often provocative conversation in which all of us learned something.

Clearly, as Ali explained, we are seeing glimmers of hope in the economy, and the country is breathing a sigh of relief. But is this the bottoming out that all of us have been looking for or is it a nice ledge that we are sliding across before we go over the edge again? I am not sure any of us could provide a confident answer on that question.

The stock market is up some 20% from its low earlier in March and housing starts are up nicely. Because both housing and investments are so critical to people’s sense of well-being, these are very encouraging signs. Yet, as we shall see with the government’s announcement on the Detroit auto industry — expected very soon — painful job losses are likely to continue for a while.

The scariest moment in the whole show came when Ali unveiled a graphic from the Congressional Budget Office predicting that the nation’s unemployment rate won’t return to pre-recession levels until 2013 — four whole years from now! Wow, that would be tough.

One question that I raised with the panelists is whether the glimmers of hope that we are seeing represent in any sense an “Obama effect.” Several of the President’s programs haven’t had a chance to kick in very much yet — for example, that big stimulus package. But ever since the stimulus package was enacted, President Obama has shifted to a more optimistic tone about the economy and has been encouraging Americans to look toward a brighter future. Is that having some effect now upon home buyers and others who are trying to buy new durable goods for the future? The question brought an interesting response from the panel.

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Peter Bergen
CNN National Security Analyst

The Obama plan for Afghanistan and Pakistan announced Friday has a great deal to recommend it, with its emphasis on protecting the Afghan population and delivering more aid directly to the Pakistani people instead of to the Pakistan army.

These are just two among a raft of other sensible and long-overdue shifts in South Asia policy.

That the strategy is well-calibrated is not surprising, as some of the most able officials in the administration helped to put it together — Richard Holbrooke at the State Department, Bruce Riedel at the National Security Council and Michèle Flournoy at the Pentagon, supplemented, of course, by Gen. David Petraeus and his experienced team at Central Command.

But the new strategy does not answer the largest question that hovers over the entire “Af-Pak” enterprise because it is, to a great degree, unanswerable.

Every government official involved in the Af-Pak review understands that Afghanistan can never be stable if al Qaeda and the Taliban continue to be headquartered in Pakistan.

Yet the Pakistani government does not have any real strategy to defeat the militants on its territory.

How then can the United States have a strategy to succeed in Pakistan when the Pakistani government itself does not have a strategy to defeat its own proliferating insurgencies?

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