assalamu alaikum. [applause] at a time of great tension between the united states and muslims around the world. tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond and the current policy debate. the relationship between islam and the west includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. more recently, attention has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many muslims and a cold war in which muslim majority countries where too often treated as proxy's, without regard to their own aspirations. moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many muslims to view the west as hostile to the traditions of islam. violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of muslims. the of september 11, 2001, and the continued efforts of these extremist to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view islam as inevitably hostile not only to america and western countries but al