Clinton Says U.S. Seeks Unity With Muslim World

February 18, 2009

Author: Glenn Kessler

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/17/AR2009021700957.html?hpid=topnews

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that the Obama administration will make "a concerted effort" to restore the image of the United States in the Islamic world and will seek to "enlist the help of Muslims around the world against the extremists."

Clinton, who on Wednesday will travel to Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, told students at Tokyo University that "this is one of the central security challenges we face -- as to how to better communicate in a way that gets through the rhetoric and through the demagogy and is heard by people who can make judgments about what we stand for and who we truly are."

Clinton's remarks came in response to a question about terrorism causing people in the United States to have anti-Muslim "prejudice," a term she rejected forcefully. "I am a Christian," she said. "Through the centuries we have had many people who have done terrible things in the name of Christianity. They have perverted the religion."

Clinton's visit to Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, appears to be part of the administration's effort to reach out to Muslims during this week-long trip to Asia.