Obama reaches out to the Muslim world

Aware that people around the globe are watching him, particularly in the Muslim world, the US President, Barack Hussein Obama, used his inaugural speech to reach out to the community in the Islamic states

Aware that people around the globe are watching him, particularly in the Muslim world, the US President, Barack Hussein Obama, used his inaugural speech to reach out to the community in the Islamic states.

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"To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect," Obama said in his inaugural speech. He is first African American President of the US.

"To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy," Obama said.

"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist," Obama said in an apparent reference to the despotic regimes of the world.

Obama said: "To those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect."

Observing that the world has changed, Obama said: "We must change with it."