By DPA
Washington : US President George W. Bush said Wednesday he will name a special envoy to promote understanding between the United States and Islamic nations, and urged Muslims to condemn extremism.
The envoy, who is yet to be named, will serve as a link to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), a 57-nation group headquartered in Saudi Arabia, Bush said.
"Our special envoy will listen to and learn from representatives from Muslim states and will share with them America's views and values," he said in a speech at the Washington Islamic Centre marking its founding 50 years ago.
"This is an opportunity for Americans to demonstrate to Muslim communities our interest in respectful dialogue and continued friendship," he said.
Leaders from the Islamic world founded the OIC in 1969 in Morocco to rally Muslim unity and confront Israel. The group is now based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
In sweeping remarks on US-Muslim relations, Bush used dramatic language to call for freedom across the Islamic world – "from Damascus to Tehran" – and said the US continues to work for "a democratic Palestine" that is ready to live peacefully with Israel.
He urged moderate Muslims to stand up to extremists who "use the veneer of Islamic belief" to foment violence "and to reach out to young Muslims – even in our country and elsewhere in the free world – who believe suicide bombing may some day be justified".
Bush voiced respect for Islam as a "faith that has enriched civilisation for centuries" and insisted that terrorists are "not the true face of Islam".
He recalled US help for earthquake victims in Pakistan and Iran, aid to Indonesia and Malaysia after the 2004 tsunami disaster, and its defence of Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo.
"The greatest challenge facing people of conscience is to help the forces of moderation win the great struggle against extremism that is now playing out across the broader Middle East," he said.