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LISA MULLINS: The spread of radical Islam is a key challenge facing President Obama this week. He's in the Middle East, in part, to present the Muslim world with an alternative vision. Mr. Obama is going to try to do that tomorrow, with a speech in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The World's Religion Editor, Jane Little, says the speech itself presents a challenge. That is, how to address the “Muslim World”.

JANE LITTLE: It is a big challenge, not least because there is no one “Muslim world”. I mean, a simple point but an important one. I mean, just as when we're talking about addressing Muslims, we're not talking about a purely religious speech either. So President Obama will be addressing multiple political and cultural concerns to a complex audience, and that's a fact the President acknowledged in an interview with the BBC a couple of days ago.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: One of the misapprehensions about – misperceptions about the Muslim community is that it's somehow monolithic. And, you know, setting aside differences between Shia and Sunni, the Muslim country that I lived in when I was a child, Indonesia, obviously is very different from Pakistan, is very different from Saudi Arabia. So we have to also recognize that there are going to be differences based on national identity and not just faith.

MULLINS: And Jane, pick up on that thought by President Obama when he was speaking with the BBC, when he says that he has to recognize that there are going to be – or “we have to recognize there are going to be differences based on national identity, not just faith”. Why does he have to be particularly mindful of these differences as he delivers this speech? As you mentioned, it's not just a theological speech, it's a political speech as well.

LITTLE: Absolutely. And the Islamic world encompasses many different ethnicities. It's not just the Arab world he's addressing. He's addressing the Persian world, the Turkish world, a lot of South Asia. And there are Shia clerics in Iran who will be listening, Sufi's in Pakistan, Wahaabis in Saudi Arabia – different interpretations of Islam there. And we heard, in a message from Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden talking very critically about President Obama's visit, saying that “he will be aggravating Muslims further, sowing the new seeds of hatred.” His deputy also urging Muslims to reject Obama's “elegant words”. It's in Al Qaeda's interest to paint the Islamic world as a monolithic one, but in fact it is extremely diverse -- and that's something Mr. Obama will try not to do. So he's got a real juggling act to do here. He has to be nuanced while at the same time acknowledging that there are common concerns. And if anything drew the Muslims together during the Bush years, it was a perception that the US war on terror was really a war on Islam. And that perception remains, and he'll try to address that again.

MULLINS: What are the other opportunities that he sees for himself here? I mean, obviously he's acknowledged that he's not going to change everything overnight in one speech, but what is he looking for?

LITTLE: Absolutely. I mean, there are great expectations about this speech. It's already being described as a “historic” one. He's trying to downplay those. It talks about the need for patience and that things can't be changed overnight. But he does have a big opportunity here. He's perceived as coming from a very different place, politically and literally, from George Bush. He shares the same name as many Muslims – his middle name being Hussein; Muslims mentioned that fact. He looks like many Muslims. He has made those personal connections with Muslims. The setting and the tone will be really important. He will be speaking at Al Azar University, and this is the highest seat of learning in the Sunni-Muslim world. Scholars there are very much associated with a more tolerant vision of Islam than Al Qaeda, and so the setting and tone will be extremely important. He'll talk about respect; about listening, not imposing; about building bridges. And although most Muslims would say, “Well, actions speak louder than words,” the words and the setting will be very important.

MULLINS: Let me just follow up on that. This is a Cairo setting where he's speaking, but there are people throughout the region, in different countries, that are going to be listening. What are certain entities listening for in particular, if he has this diverse audience that he presumably has to address?

LITTLE: Well, one big theme of the speech will be extremism. He will be talking about violent extremism and seeking to draw a line between the Al Qaeda's of this world and the vast majority of peace loving Muslims. He will talk about that. He will also talk about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Many Muslims have been encouraged by the fact that since he came into office, he announced his intention to close Guantanamo, to pull troops out of Iraq, and has also seemed to be taking a tougher line on Israel in terms of stopping settlement building. And people are looking for a real commitment to establishing a Palestinian state. That will be a big issue. But then there are plenty of people who say, “Well look what's still happening in Iraq and Afghanistan and Pakistan. Many Muslims being killed.” So again, real diversity of opinion, and he's going to have to tread a very fine line.

MULLINS: All right. The World's Jane Little, our Religion Editor. Thank you very much, Jane.

LITTLE: Thank you, Lisa.

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