US President Barack Obama told the Muslim world on Monday the United States was not at war with Islam, using his first international tour to try to repair America's damaged image abroad.

Obama hammered home his support for the creation of a Palestinian state, despite the recent election of a right-leaning government in Israel, in an effort to show he was serious about reaching out to Muslims.

"Let me say this as clearly as I can: The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam," he said in a wide-ranging speech to Turkey's parliament.

In his first trip as president to the Muslim world, which had accused his predecessor George W. Bush of bias in favor of Israel, Obama said: "The United States strongly supports the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security."

Chief Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat welcomed Obama's words, saying he had made a major commitment to the two-state solution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel was committed to reaching peace and would cooperate with the Obama administration to achieve that goal.

Obama is on the last leg of his first overseas trip as president. He is trying to rebuild ties with Muslims after anger at the invasion of Iraq and war in Afghanistan, made more urgent by a resurgent al Qaeda and Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

"Our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject," Obama said.

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