INDONESIAN CLERIC PRAISES OBAMA'S SPEECH

Jakarta, June 4 (ANTARA) - An Indonesian Islamic cleric praised US President Obama's speech in Cairo on Thursday saying it showed the American leader had good intentions towards Islam universally.

"I think President Obama's speech had a positive meaning. However, we hope it will not become a mere slogan but be followed up in concrete terms," KH Salahuddin Wahid said by phone in reply to ANTARA's question on Thusrday.

Obama's speech at Cairo University was broadcast live by one of the country's television stations.

Salahuddin who is the leader of an Islamic boarding school in Jombang, East Java, said Obama, through his speech addressed to more than one billion Moslems in the world, intended to build a coalition with Moslem governments to revive talks particularly toward peace in the Middle East.

"His intention is good and therefore as the world's biggest Moslem population we must have hope that the pospects for peace in the Islamic world particularly in the Middle East will improve," he said.

Meanwhile, the associate chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council, Amidhan, said he appreciated President Obama's determination to find a solution to world problems, particularly in the Middle East.

He said Obama was more progressive and creative than his predecessor in responding to and seeking a solution to the problem.

He believed what President Obama had said was not mere rhetoric but an agenda that he had already voiced when campaigning for president.

"I think President Obama has a good and honest will to
change the image of his country," he said.

He said he also believed Obama wished to settle problems through negotiations and to try to revive peace talks between Palestine and Israel.