Chicago Sun Times
Obama is visiting Saudi King,Leader of the Muslim world
President Barack Obama began his latest bid to open a dialogue with the Muslim world by paying a call Wednesday on Saudi King Abdullah,guardian of Islam’s sacred sites in Mecca and Medina.
The monarch of Saudi Arabia greeted Obama at Riyadh’s main airport with a ceremony when the new U.S. president arrived after an overnight flight from Washington. A band played “The Star-Spangled Banner.”And each leader shook hands with members of his counterpart’s entourage.
Perched on ornate chairs behind a flower arrangement,Obama and Abdullah then chatted briefly in public and shook hands,with cameras capturing the scene. Then,they retreated to hold private talks on a range of issues.
Saudi Arabia is a stopover en route to Cairo,where Obama is to set deliver a speech that he’s been promising since last year’s election campaign —aiming to set a new tone in America’s often-strained dealings with the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims.