A speech given by US President Barack Obama at Cairo University on 4 June 2009. Entitled "A New Beginning", the main purpose of the speech was to reduce tensions and promote cordial relations between the United States and the Muslim world following the September 11, 2001 attacks and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Much of the speech was devoted to Obama's appreciation of Islam's contribution to civilization and his own personal story. On the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Obama offered both a commitment to Israel's security and sympathy for the Palestinians' national aspirations. He called on Palestinians to abandon violence and focus on state-building, and for both sides to pursue progress in the peace process, also citing the Arab Peace Initiative and the possible role for Arab countries in the process.