Dear Mr. Dear President Barack Hussein Obama,

After hearing your now famous speech in 2002 about ending the war in Iraq - Arabs, Muslims and peace activists from all over were thrilled-and many worked tirelessly to support your Presidential ambitions. We witnessed you emerge from the grassroots arena as an ambitious community organizer and advocate for the poor and disenfranchised to the White Houselikely the greatest political achievement this generation will see during its lifetime.

As a cross-section of the Arab and Muslim-American community, we are submitting this letter for you to consider as you embark on your challenging journey as our President. Although we want to believe in the hope and change you speak of, we are often targeted as scapegoats for our countrys problems. We have watched as racist and derogatory comments about Arab and Muslims dominated the media coverage during your campaign. We also watched you effectively distance yourself from any association with our communities. During the past several months we have listened carefully to every supportive gesture, and unconditional promise you made to Israel while condemning Palestinians who have endured 60 years of ongoing Israeli aggression, Apartheid and expansionism. We therefore understand that our hope for change is not enough, and for this reason we are committed to supporting that your Administrations policies in the Middle East, are not politics as usual.

We would also like to ensure that your promise of restoring Americas moral stature in the world is more than simple rhetoric. As a first step towards changing how the US is viewed abroad we must understand how we are perceived, particularly in the Middle East. The vast majority of Arabs see the US as touting idealist values of freedom, equality and democracy in theory, but in practice acting as an Imperialist state that proliferates its military bases globally and provides Israel with unfettered military, economic, and diplomatic aid. Moreover, the U.S. Occupation of Iraq which, among its stated goals, intended to bring democracy, seems much more interested in privatizing the countrys vast oil resources and establishing permanent US bases in the region. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of Hamass legitimate electoral victory, the U.S. has imposed a debilitating embargo on Gaza, the most densely populated place on earth, and supported Israels blockade of vital food, medicine and fuel to the Strip. The international community led by the United Nations has decried this policy as amounting to collective punishment and causing a humanitarian catastrophe. The rest of the world sees the clear contradictions between the U.S.s lofty rhetoric and its inhumane approach. Such blatant contradictions work to strengthen, rather than weaken, radical elements of political Islam.

It is the belief of the below signatories, representative of the Arab and Muslim-American communities, that supporting ongoing Occupation, conflict, and war in the Middle East is not morally, politically, or economically viable. In order to push forward true change, the only solution is for the Obama Administration to undertake a review of its Middle East policies and to truly uphold the ideals of equality, freedom and democracy, by issuing the following plan of action:

- End U.S. arms transfers and military aid to Israel, which is scheduled to increase to $30 billion, over the next decade;
- Withdraw troops completely and immediately from Iraq and forswear permanent bases and;
- Pursue diplomatic, multilateral solutions with Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, instead of escalating war.

Furthermore, insist Israel complies with the following principles of equality as enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:

- A complete dismantling of Israeli Apartheid, including Jewish only laws, privileges, settlements, roads, and the Apartheid Wall; and recognize the fundamental rights of Palestinians to full equality;
- End the blockade of Gaza, and Occupation of all Arab - including Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese lands, and;
- Uphold the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

There are moral and viable solutions to these difficult challenges we face. It necessitates a determined political will, on all our parts, to create the true change we need. For Middle East peace to realize viable change Israel, with the encouragement of its benefactor-our U.S. government-must become a secular democracy, in which all citizens have equal rights, and equal access to resources. For our nation to restore its standing in the world, we must make an honest and just assessment with regards to Israel, recognize the validity of Palestinian rights and put an end to the era of the U.S. double standards.

We are calling upon you to remember the grass roots from which you came, and consider becoming the Organizer in Chief as you proceed in the coming days. We hope you put your vast technological tools, and grassroots organizing skills to use to advance the cause of justice in society, push for true equality and continue - irrespective of how negotiations proceed on final-status issues - for a lasting, just peace based on equal standards and durable solutions, and not just politics as usual.