In the news today...

A compelling story today is President's Obama's plan to give an address to the Muslim world out of Egypt. He has announced that he will speak in Cairo next month. Egypt is both an obvious and controversial choice; as the most populous Arabic state it is an important actor in the Middle East and a key American ally, but at the same time, Americans are uncomfortable with being seen as too close to autocratic President Mubarak. Complicating the matter, the Mubarak administration's most viable opposition in a hypothetical democratic election would be the Muslim Brotherhood, whose Islamist reform agenda makes the US nervous.

The Egyptian visit is being interpreted as a sign of supporting stability over democracy in the Middle East.

A snippet:

For their part, one of the Brotherhood’s leaders said the organisation feels no particular affinity toward Mr Obama. Instead, the Egyptian people are looking for material policy changes, not empty words, said Muhammed Habib, the organisation’s second-in-command.

“It’s not about feelings and passion and all that, it’s about what could happen to change the American policy in the Muslim world,” said Mr Habib. “Will they still be seeking hegemony in the Arab world to support the Zionist state? Will the American bases remain in Iraq? This all needs clarification and a stance.”

Also in Cairo, the Foreign Ministers of the Arab League are meeting prior to a trip to Washington for President Mubarak, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Palestinean leaders. The Ministers are gathering to come up with a joint approach to dealing with Israel's new right-leaning government.

Finally, another story that caught my eye comes out of Amman, where Pope Benedict XVI is addressing Muslim leaders. Of course, he has had a troubled past with speaking publicly about Islam, and to his credit, acknowledged and apologized for this. He then went on to speak about the double-edged sword of religion in politics:

"Some assert that religion is necessarily a cause of division in our world and so they argue that the lesser attention given to religion in the public sphere the better," he said.

"Certainly, the contradiction of tensions and divisions between the followers of different religious traditions, sadly, cannot be denied.

"However, is it not also the case that often it is the ideological manipulation of religion, sometimes for political ends, that is the real catalyst for tension and division, and at times even violence in society?"