Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Thursday Barack Obama has presented a fresh understanding of Islam not shown by predecessors. "Under the past administration, there was a feeling that the Islamic world was a group of terrorists, Islam was hated and Muslims should be watched, and that the previous administration was scared of any Muslim," Mubarak said, according to Reuters.
"But Obama came and said we will not fight Muslims and Islam. He is a sympathetic man, and says the United States will not fight Islam because Islam is a heavenly religion," he added.
According to Mubarak, he discussed the Palestinian issue with the American leader after telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel needed to stop building settlements. "Obama understands this issue well," Mubarak said.
"Obama wants to solve the issue (of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict) and wants to do something, but we must help him on how to solve it ... and the Israelis must help him."
