Obama to boost US ties with Muslims

NEW YORK, Wednesday

US President-elect Barack Obama said yesterday he plans to give a major speech in one of the capitals of the Islamic world as part of an “unrelenting” effort to improve US relations with Muslims.

Mr Obama also said in his first interview with a newspaper firm since winning election that he intends to take the oath of office on January 20 under his full name: Barack Hussein Obama.

During the presidential campaign, some conservatives used the “Hussein” part of Mr Obama’s name to suggest he is a Muslim and to associate him with the executed Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein.

Mr Obama, a Christian, told The Chicago Tribune that he will simply be following precedent when he is sworn into office.

“I think the tradition is that they use all three names, and I will follow the tradition,” he said. “I’m not trying to make a statement one way or another. I’ll do what everybody else does.’’

While pledging to build “respect and partnership” between the United States and “peoples of goodwill,” Mr Obama made clear he is committed to carrying on the US war against terrorism.

“The message I want to send is that we will be unyielding in stamping out the terrorist extremism we saw in Mumbai,” Mr Obama told his hometown newspaper.

He did not specify when or where he will speak in the Muslim world. But Mr Obama did indicate he will seek to overcome the mistrust with which many Muslims have viewed the United States during the Bush years

“I think we’ve got a unique opportunity to reboot America’s image around the world and also in the Muslim world in particular,” he said.