Barack Obama has set off for the Middle East where he is expected to reach out to the Muslim world in a speech in Cairo.The US president left Washington DC on Tuesday and will visit Saudi Arabia on Wednesday before continuing on to Egypt on Thursday, where he is expected to address Muslims directly.But even before he began his four-day trip to the Middle East, al-Qaeda's deputy leader urged Muslims not to listen to the US leader.Calling Obama a "criminal", Ayman al-Zawahiri told Muslims not to heed the "elegant words" of the US president whose speech in Cairo is aimed at repairing ties with the Islamic world damaged by his predecessor's "war on terror" policies."His bloody messages were received and are still being received by Muslims, and they will not be concealed by public relations campaigns or by farcical visits or elegant words," said an audio recording purportedly by al-Zawahiri posted on an al-Qaeda-linked website on Tuesday.The recording could not be verified.Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said Obama's speech "will outline his personal commitment to engagement, based upon mutual interests and mutual respect"."He will discuss how the United States and Muslim communities around the world can bridge some of the differences that have divided them."
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