Not happy with Obama’s policies,but he’s better than Bush,say UP Muslims

The scale of the protest,however,was much lower than what was seen in 2006,when ahead of Bush’s visit,nearly five lakh Muslims held a march here to register their protest against US action in Iraq and also on issues with which the US had nothing to do,like the publication of cartoons of Prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper,and India’s vote against Iran at the IAEA.

The protesters,including about 50,000 women,had marched from Tilewali Masjid in the old city to the Vidhan Sabha Marg. Some protesters had fired shots in the air and burst crackers. They torched an effigy of President Bush and pelted stones at a cafe,assuming it was run by a US company.

However,no marches and big demonstrations are planned this time.

Muslim leaders here believe that Obama,who has advocated a partnership with Muslim communities across the globe on the basis of “mutual interest and respect”,is better than his predecessor,although they are not too happy with the US policy towards the Islamic world,particularly the way the war against terror is being executed and the policy towards Iran. But they think the Obama has inherited Iraq and Afghanistan from Bush and is trying to pull out of both countries.

Maulana Agha Roohi,a prominent Shia cleric of Lucknow,said,“In his historic speech at Cairo University last year,Obama had called for making a new beginning with the Muslim world that constitutes one-fourth of the world’s population. There is no fundamental change in the US policy towards the Muslims,yet there seems to be a softening of the sentiments of Muslims for Obama.”

Hussian Kamaluddin Akbar,Professor of Law at Allahabad University,and Chairman of the UP Shia Waqf board,said Obama appears better than Bush and has announced a schedule for the withdrawal of the US forces from Iraq and Afghanistan,although he is also inflicting damages on Muslim interests. “His regime has further tightened economic and diplomatic sanctions against Iran over the nuclear issue,” he said.

Ibne Hasan,former secretary of the Hussainabad trust which administers distribution of pension to the members of the royal family and the courtiers of the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah,said Bush’s visit came at a time of global discontent among the Muslims over the cartoon by Danish papers,besides the offensive against Saddam Hussain in Iraq and against the Taliban in Afghanistan. “This time there are no such recent memories,” he said.