Obama urges 'new beginning' in U.S.-Muslim relations

Cairo was on heightened alert, with soldiers lining the sidewalks and streets closed to traffic. In the morning, before delivering his address, Obama met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the Quba Palace and toured the Sultan Hassan Mosque. The president walked through the mosque with his arms crossed over his chest. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton strolled at his side wearing a head scarf.

Mubarak told reporters that he and Obama "discussed everything candidly and frankly without any reservation."

The audience for Obama's speech was made up largely of university students, in keeping with the president's impulse to play to young, educated people -- and with his belief that if he can win them over he can turn the page with a larger audience.

Obama's words about supporting the education and choices of women drew especially loud applause from women in the audience, some of them wearing Western dress, some wearing light head scarves and some with their hair completely covered.

"The fact that he talks about tolerance, and cited verses from the Koran and the Bible, makes me feel he is aware how people think," said Michael Fayek, 27, a Christian and recent graduate of Cairo's Ain Shams University. "I admired very much the suggestion that Jews, Christians and Muslims should live together in peace."

Obama cautioned that change would take time.

"No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point," he said.

The president drew applause when he said, "As the Holy Koran tells us, 'Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.' "

Although hailing democracy, he said, "America does not presume to know what is best for everyone."

"But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed, confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice, government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people, the freedom to live as you choose.

"The issues that I have described will not be easy to address," Obama said. "But we have a responsibility to join together on behalf of the world we seek -- a world where extremists no longer threaten our people, and American troops have come home, a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own, and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes, a world where governments serve their citizens, and the rights of all God's children are respected.

"That is the world we seek," he continued. "But we can only achieve it together."

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cparsons@tribune.com

jeffrey.fleishman@latimes.com

Times staff writers Richard Boudreaux in Jerusalem; Ned Parker in Baghdad; Laura King in Istanbul, Turkey; Borzou Daragahi in Tehran; Alex Rodriguez in Islamabad, Pakistan; and Paul Richter in Washington contributed to this report.