Bush: US Mideast plans to benefit "all mankind"
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-11-11 09:33

U.S. President George W. Bush, who is deeply unpopular in the Islamic world, told Muslim leaders on Wednesday that America's plans for the Middle East will lead to a better future "for all mankind."

Observing the holy month of Ramadan with a traditional evening dinner, Bush cited last month's Afghan elections and a planned January poll in Iraq as evidence of U.S. success at bringing democratic reform to the greater Middle East.

"In Iraq, families are observing this holy month in a free society," he told Muslim American leaders and diplomats from Islamic countries at a White House Iftar dinner held to break the daily fasting of Ramadan, which began in mid-October.

"In Afghanistan, brave men and women have transformed a country and they have inspired our world," Bush said. "Over the next four years we will work to ensure that the gift of freedom reaches more men and women in the broader Middle East."

He vowed to encourage reform by working with leaders in the region. "And as we do so, we'll build a better future for all mankind," said Bush, who has been buoyed politically at home by his decisive election victory over Democrat John Kerry.

But with the Middle East peace process in disarray and U.S. forces battling Islamist militants in Iraq, analysts say Bush faces an enormous challenge convincing Muslims that his policies are meant to create peace and prosperity.

"The vast majority of people in Arab nations believe the U.S. is out for three things: oil, support for Israel and the weakening of Islam," said Shibley Telhami, the Anwar Sadat professor of peace and development at the University of Maryland.

"Even in a non-Arab country like Turkey, the No. 1 perception is that the U.S. is out to confront Muslims, that the war on terrorism is a war on Islam."

Bush's popularity among Muslims in America has plummeted since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which brought a homeland security response that Muslim leaders say has eroded civil rights with heavy-handed law enforcement tactics.

An estimated 93 percent of Muslim-Americans voted against Bush's re-election, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Four years ago, he received about 70 percent of the Muslim vote.

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