Obama to address Muslims in Egypt

[Douglas Carpenter]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8041226.stm

US President Barack Obama will give a long-awaited speech on US relations with the Muslim world on a visit to Egypt, the White House has announced.

He will travel to Egypt on 4 June and a day later arrive in Germany for a visit to Dresden and the site of the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald.

During his election campaign, Mr Obama promised to make a major speech on ties with Muslims early in his presidency.

Egypt arguably represented "the heart of the Arab world", a spokesman said.

In Turkey last month, the president declared that the US was not at war with Islam and he called for a greater partnership with the Muslim world.

Right from the start, Barack Obama has made clear he wants to rebuild relations with the Muslim and Arab world, the BBC's Jonathan Beale reports from Washington.

With so many events in so short a space of time, it is going to be a carefully choreographed trip, our correspondent says.

'Extending the hand'

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8041226.stm