Obama pledges new start with Muslims

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20413445.htm

President Barack Obama promised to improve U.S. ties with the Muslim world in his inauguration address on Tuesday, after tensions that followed the Sept. 11 attacks and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect," said Obama, who became the first black president of the United States.

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The Council on American Islamic Relations welcomed Obama's promise on seeking better relations with Muslim nations.

"We hope this encouraging statement, coupled with a change in America's previous policies toward the Muslim world, will help improve our nation's image and promote a safe and prosperous future for all of humanity," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the council.

The first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Congress, Minnesota Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, said Obama's words were an important signal of goodwill to Muslims in the United States as well as the rest of the world.

"I do believe it could undermine recruiting for al Qaeda," he told Reuters, because "their message depends on trying to demonize the United States as a country that is somehow hostile to Islam and the Muslim world."