NEW YORK, Sept 20: Addressing the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, US President George W. Bush strongly rejected a view that the West was against Islam and termed it a propaganda to advance terrorist designs.

“We respect Islam,” Mr Bush emphatically declared.

He talked about working together to create a world beyond terror and noted: “At the start of the 21st century, it is clear that the world is engaged in a great ideological struggle between extremists, who use terror as a weapon to create fear, and moderate people everywhere, who are working for peace.”

Notably while he made references to Afghanistan and war against terrorism, he did not mention Pakistan or President Pervez Musharraf even once.

However, he did refer to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a number of other countries, but completely ignored South Asia.

Bypassing governments, he opted to directly address the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Lebanon, separately assuring them of the US support and giving them hope for a more democratic and safer future.

To the people of Iran his message was: “The United States respects you and your country.” He warned that the greatest obstacle to a better future for Iran was that its rulers had chosen to deny the people of Iran liberty and use their nation’s resources to fund terrorists, fuel extremism, and pursue nuclear weapons.

However, in a pointed note of caution for the Iranian leadership laced with a reconciliatory tone, he said: “Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions. The world has no objection to Iran’s pursuit of a truly peaceful nuclear power programme. We are working towards a diplomatic solution to this crisis, and we look to the day when the people of Iran can live in freedom- and America and Iran can be good friends and close partners in the cause of peace.”

On Tehran’s nuclear programme, he underscored that Iran must fulfil its international obligations as set out by the UN Security Council.

Mr Bush’s loaded message to the people of Syria was: “Your Government must choose a better way forward….Today, Syria’s rulers have allowed the country to become a crossroad for terrorists, and are turning the country into a tool of Iran, increasing Syria’s isolation from the world.”