Now, part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I'm a Christian. But my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azan at the break of dawn and at the fall of dusk。

　　As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith. As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam at places like Al-Azhar that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's renaissance and enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities.。。

　　It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra, our magnetic compass and tools of navigation, our mastery of pens and printing, our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires, timeless poetry and cherished music, elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality。

　　I also know that Islam has always been a part of America's story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second president, John Adams, wrote,

　　The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims. And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States。

　　They have fought in our wars. They have served in our government. They have stood for civil rights. They have started businesses. They have taught at our universities. They've excelled in our sports arenas. They've won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building and lit the Olympic torch. And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same holy Quran that one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, kept in his personal library。

　　So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear。

　　But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire。

　　We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal. And we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words, within our borders and around the world。

　　We are shaped by every culture. Drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept, E pluribus unum: Out of many, one。

　　Now much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected president。

　　But my personal story is not so unique. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores. And that includes nearly 7 million American Muslims in our country today who, by the way, enjoy incomes and educational levels that are higher than the American average。

　　Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state in our union and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That's why the United States government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it。

　　这种信念部分上来自我的个人经历。我是一个基督教徒，而我的父亲出生在一个肯尼亚家庭，世世代代都是穆斯林信徒。我小时候在印度尼西亚生活过几年，在黎明和日落时分均能听到宣礼塔召集朝拜的声音。

　　我年轻时曾在在芝加哥社区工作，那里的许多人都从自己的穆斯林信仰中找到了尊严和宁静。作为历史专业的学生，我也了解伊斯兰教对文明的重大贡献。在爱资哈尔大学这样的地方，伊斯兰教让学术之光照亮了一个又一个世纪，为欧洲文艺复兴和启蒙运动铺平了道路。

　　穆斯林世界不断创新，发明了代数学，改进了磁罗盘和导航工具，掌握了书写与印刷术，使世人了解了疾病的传播与治疗方式。伊斯兰文化为我们创造了宏伟的拱顶、耸入云霄的尖塔、永恒的诗篇、美妙的音乐；优美的书法和宁静的冥想之所。纵观历史，伊斯兰已经通过言辞和实际行动证明了宗教包容和种族平等的可能性。

　　我还知道，伊斯兰教一直是美国历史的一个组成部分。摩洛哥是第一个承认美国的国家。1796年，美国第二任总统约翰·亚当斯在签署《的黎波里条约》时曾写道：“美国本身没有任何敌视穆斯林法律、宗教或社会安定的意图。”自建国以来，美国穆斯林使国家变得更加丰富多彩。

　　他们曾参加过历次对外战争，担任政府公职，为民权事业奋斗，开办商务企业，在高等院校教书育人，在体育场上出类拔萃，荣膺诺贝尔奖，建造我国最高建筑，点燃奥运火炬。当首位当选国会议员的美国穆斯林在宣誓捍卫《宪法》时，他手抚的那本《古兰经》曾是我国开国元勋之一的托马斯·杰斐逊的私人藏书。

　　在造访伊斯兰教的发祥地之前，我已在三大洲对伊斯兰教有所了解。以往的经历使我坚信——美国和伊斯兰世界之间的伙伴关系应基于真正的伊斯兰教，而非伪伊斯兰教。作为美国总统，我认为自己有义务同不利于伊斯兰教的偏颇之论作斗争。

　　但同样的原则也必须适用于穆斯林对美国的态度。正如不应用粗俗的陈词滥调来描述穆斯林一样，美国亦不应被描述为一个自私自利的帝国。作为人类进步的最重要的源泉之一，美国也是在与帝国进行抗争的革命中诞生的。

　　我们的建国理念是“人人生而平等”。几个世纪以来，我们一直在全国乃至世界范围内为实践上述理念的真谛而浴血奋斗。

　　我们受不同文化背景的影响，我们来自世界各地，但笃信同一个简单的理念：合众为一。

　　一个名叫巴拉克·侯赛因·奥巴马的非裔美国人当选为美国总统就足以证明这一点。

　　然而，我的个人经历并没有什么独特之初。尽管不是每一个美国人都能够梦想成真，但是对于每一个踏上美国土地的人来说，他们的梦想都会收到尊重，其中也包括人口近700万的美国穆斯林，目前，他们的薪酬和受教育程度均高于美国平均水平。

　　此外，美国的自由与宗教信仰自由密不可分。因此，美国每一个州都有清真寺，全国共有1 200多个清真寺。出于同样的原因，美国政府用法律的形式保护女性佩戴穆斯林头巾的权利，并规定：阻挠者将会受到法律的惩罚。