QUOTING from the Quran for emphasis, United States (U.S.) President, Barack Obama, yesterday urged a "new beginning between America and Moslems" and said together, they could confront violent extremism across the globe and advance the timeless search for peace in the Middle East. He also declared his belief in both a Palestinian State and a State of Israel.

Obama who spoke at Cairo University after meeting with Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, on the second stop of a four-nation trip to the Middle East and Europe pointed out that there are some who advocate for democracy only when they are out of power; once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others.

"No matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power: you must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.

In the widely anticipated speech in Egypt, designed to reframe relations after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the U.S.-led war in Iraq and monitored on the Cable News Network (CNN), the U.S. leader said the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the United States and the Moslem world must end.

Obama, who called for a "new beginning" in ties, admitted that there had been "years of distrust" and said both sides needed to make a "sustained effort... to respect one another and seek common ground".

The speech was the centerpiece of his journey and, while its tone was striking, the president also covered the Middle East peace process, Iran, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the violent struggle waged by al-Qaeda.

He quoted several times from the Quran and said Moslems' perceptions of the U.S. must change, drawing applause from his audience at Cairo University.

"This cycle of suspicion and discord must end," Obama said.

He cited the Quran as saying: "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth. Just as Moslems do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire."

Obama said Islam had an important role in promoting peace and tackling extremism, adding that it had "always been a part of America's story."

He added that much had been made of the fact that an African-American named Barack Hussein Obama had become U.S. president, but he insisted his personal story was "not so unique".

"The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores - that includes nearly seven million American Moslems."

He added that American ties with Israel are unbreakable, yet issued a firm, evenhanded call to the Jewish state and Palestinians alike to live up to their international obligations.

Obama conceded at the beginning of his remarks that tension "has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Moslems, and a Cold War in which Moslem-majority countries were often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations."

"And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear," said the president, who recalled hearing prayer calls of "azaan" at dawn and dusk while living in Indonesia as a boy.

At the same time, he said the same principle must apply in reverse. "Just as Moslems do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire."

Moslems greeted Obama's speech as a mark of a changed American attitude toward them and a new policy on the Middle East. But some insisted they still need to see action to back up his words.

"The part of Obama's speech regarding the Palestinian issue is an important step under new beginnings," the Associated Press (AP) quoted Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as saying. "It shows there is a new and different American policy toward the Palestinian issue."

Mahmoud Ramahi, a legislator from Abbas rival Hamas, offered qualified praise for the speech.

"I have followed the speech closely. There are many positive points," he said. "There is a difference between his policy and Bush's policy. I see a change in the U.S. foreign policy discourse. But the problem is still on the ground. Would they achieve a Palestinian independent state? If he does that, that would be a relief and good for all parties."

Obama, aiming to repair ties with the Moslem world that had been strained under his predecessor George W. Bush, struck a respectful tone. He opened with the traditional greeting in Arabic "Salaam Aleikum," and listed many of the grievances of Moslems against the U.S. and the West.

Baghdad resident, Mithwan Hussein, called Obama "brave."

"I think it's a good start and we hope he will open a new chapter with Islamic world and Arab Nation in particular," he said.

But not everyone was impressed.

Wahyudin, the 57-year-old director of a hard-line Islamic boarding school in Jakarta, Indonesia, said "I don't trust him." He spoke as he watched the speech on television.

"He's just trying to apologise to Moslems because of what America - or really Bush - has done in the past," said Wahyudin, who goes by one name. "He's promising to be different. But that's all it is, a promise. We want action. We want to see an end to all intervention in Moslem countries. That's what we're fighting for."

Obama arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday, greeted by a new and threatening message from al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden. In an audio recording, the terrorist leader said the president inflamed the Moslem world by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants in the Swat Valley and block Islamic law there.

But Obama said the actions of violent extremist Moslems are "irreconcilable with the rights of human beings," and quoted the Quran to make his point: "Be conscious of God and always speak the truth ..."

"Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism - it is an important part of promoting peace," he said.

"Hamas must put an end to violence, recognise past agreements, and recognise Israel's right to exist," he said of the organisation the United States deems as terrorists.

"The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people," Obama said.

"At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements on the West Bank and outskirts of Jerusalem", he said. "It is time for these settlements to stop."

As for Jerusalem itself, he said it should be a "secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Moslems ..."

Obama also said the Arab nations should no longer use the conflict with Israel to distract its own people from other problems.

He treaded lightly on one issue that President George W. Bush had made a centerpiece of his second term - the spread of democracy.

Obama said he has a commitment to governments "that reflect the will of the people." And yet, he said, "No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other."

At times, there was an echo of Obama's campaign mantra of change in his remarks, and he said many are afraid it cannot occur.

"There is so much fear, so much mistrust. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward," he said.

The president's brief stay in Cairo included a visit to the Sultan Hassan mosque, a 600-year-old centre of Islamic worship and study. A tour of the Great Pyramids of Giza was also on his itinerary.

The build-up to the speech was enormous, stoked by the White House although Obama seemed at pains to minimise hopes for immediate consequences.

"One speech is not going to solve all the problems in the Middle East," he told a French interviewer. "Expectations should be somewhat modest."

Eager to spread the president's message as widely as possible, the tech-savvy White House orchestrated a live Webcast of the speech on the White House site; remarks translated into 13 languages; a special State Department site where users could sign up for speech highlights; and distribution of excerpts to social networking giants MySpace, Twitter and Facebook.

Though the speech was co-sponsored by al-Azhar University, which has taught science and Quranic scripture for nearly a millennium, the actual venue was the more modern and secular Cairo University. The lectern was set up in the domed main auditorium on a stage dominated by a picture of Mubarak.

Human rights advocates found that symbolism troubling: an American president watched over by an aging autocrat who's ruled Egypt since 1981.

"Egypt's democrats cannot help being concerned," wrote Dina Guirguis, executive director of Voices for a Democratic Egypt.

The university's alumni are among the Arab world's most famous - and notorious. They include the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Nobel Prize-winning author, Naguib Mahfuz.

Saddam Hussein studied law in the '60s but did not graduate. And al-Qaeda 's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, earned a medical degree.