Barack Obama appeals to faiths in Istanbul

President Barack Obama met religious leaders in Istanbul yesterday as part of an effort to unite moderates of major faiths against extremism. Mr Obama told the Muslim world in a speech on Monday the US was not at war with Islam, using his first international tour to try to repair the US damaged image abroad.

Pursuing his message, Mr Obama talked with Istanbul's senior Islamic official, the city's chief rabbi and representatives of Orthodox Christian churches.

In a further sign of engagement, he toured Turkey's most important mosque, the Blue Mosque, accompanied by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Mufti Mustafa Cagrici. He is trying to rebuild ties with Muslims after anger at the invasion of Iraq and war in Afghanistan, made more urgent by a strengthening al Qaeda and Taliban insurgency.

"Let me say this as clearly as I can: The US is not, and will never be, at war with Islam," he said in a speech to the Turkish Parliament in the capital Ankara. The speech was both directed to Nato ally Turkey, a secular but predominantly Muslim democracy, and to the wider region.

As part of a new drive to engage with youths around the world, as Mr Obama did in Strasbourg, he held a town hall meeting at a cultural centre in Istanbul.

"Meeting with the youth symbolises the expectation of hope and change, because the previous administration had a problem with its image in the Muslim world," said Salih Altundere, 23, studying international relations at Bogazici University. "Turkey has a special position in the Muslim world. This government is religious but still democratic," he said as Mr Obama made his way to the youth town hall event.

His two-day visit is a nod to Turkey's regional reach, economic power, diplomatic contacts and status as a secular democracy seeking European Union membership that has accommodated political Islam.