Muslim leaders welcome Obama talk,want to see ‘real change’

The sticking point is America’s continued support to Israel. “President Obama has been forthright and candid though he failed to acknowledge that while Iran has signed the NPT,Israel

has not done so despite keeping a huge stockpile of nuclear

warheads,” said Zafarul Islam Khan,president of the

All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat,the umbrella body of Indian Muslim

organisations.

Farooq said Obama’s continued assertion that Tehran should not have nuclear weapons gives away the double standards of the American administration. “While America claims to have established democracy in Iraq after forcibly dethroning Saddam Hussein,one fails to understand why the US is not accepting Hamas in Palestine which won power through a democratic process,” he added.

Rajya Sabha MP Mahmood Madhani said: “We believe America’s policies have been responsible for the spread of terrorism worldwide. His comments have given us hope. But he will have to translate his words into action. For that he needs a definite plan of action.”

Muslim League leader and Union MoS E Ahamed,however,said Obama was speaking from his heart. “We can see that there is a perceptible change in America’s attitude. He has said we should not be prisoners of the past. It was not the language of power,” he said.