Politics

Day 77: Obama Reaches Out To Muslim World

By Brian Montopoli

April 6, 2009 / 7:26 PM EDT / CBS News

(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

On his seventy-seventh day in office, President Obama took his first trip to a Muslim nation, Turkey. Reaching out to the Muslim world, the president said the United States "is not and will never be at war with Islam."

"In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject," he added.

The president called Turkey a "critical ally" and an "important part of Europe" and said "Turkey and the United States must stand together — and work together — to overcome the challenges of our time."

He did not, however, use the word "genocide" in reference to the World War I-era killing of Albanians, despite a campaign pledge that he recognized the killings as such.

Check out CBS Evening News coverage of the president's day below.