British Islamic groups gave a cautious welcome to new US President Barack Obama's pledge to reach out to the Muslim world, saying his policies needed to match his words.
In his inauguration address yesterday, Obama promised a "new way forward" based on "mutual interest and mutual respect" following tensions that followed the September 11 attacks, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and US support for Israel.
Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the new president's intentions were "noble".
"I hope it ends the rift between the US and the Muslim world which has grown further and further in the last eight years," Bari said.
"As a first step, I hope the president will address the tragedy in Gaza. The strength of feeling against what the Israelis have done should not be underestimated."
Former President George W. Bush's foreign policy led to much anger among Muslims and is regarded by many commentators as acting as a recruiting sergeant for extremists in Britain.
Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of Muslim youth organisation the Ramadhan Foundation, said the fact that Obama spent time as a child in Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation, would help Muslims warm to him.
But he said what Obama did would be more important than his words.
"He will be judged on his actions not based on his rhetoric, not based on soundbites," he said.
He said they wanted to see equal treatment of Palestinians in the Middle East and an end "to the occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan".
Radical group Hizb ut-Tahrir, an organisation the government threatened to ban after the July 7, 2005 London bomb attacks, said "a makeover" did not amount to the "remaking" of America Obama promised.
"America is not one man, it is its institutions," a spokesman said.
"Moreover, many Muslims will feel that Obama's poetic rhetoric and criticism of Bush's failings can't hide the fact that he has threatened to bomb Pakistan, vowed to escalate the Afghanistan war, expressed unreserved support for Israel and will likely continue the long-standing US policy of supporting oppressive dictators in the Muslim world."