ANKARA, Turkey Barack Obama, making his first visit to a Muslim nation as president, declared today the United States "is not at war with Islam" and called for a greater partnership with the Islamic world.

Addressing the Turkish parliament, Obama called the country an important U.S. ally in many areas, including the fight against terrorism. He devoted much of his speech to urging a greater bond between Americans and Muslims, portraying terrorist groups such as al Qaida as extremists who did not represent the vast majority of Muslims.

"Let me say this as clearly as I can," Obama said. "The United States is not 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."

Obama is trying to mend fences with a Muslim world that felt it had been blamed by America for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Al Jazeera and Al Arabiyia, two of the biggest Arabic satellite channels, carried Obama's speech live.

"America's relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not be based on opposition to al-Qaida," he said. "We seek broad engagement based upon mutual interests and mutual respect.

"We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better, including my own country," Obama said.

Obama also said, to a round of applause, that the United States supports Turkey becoming a member of the European Union.

Turkey has the largest army in NATO after the United States. It and tiny Albania, recently admitted, are the only predominantly Muslim members of NATO.

"Obama starts with a great advantage because his name is not George Bush," said Bulent Aliriza, director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

While Bush was extremely unpopular in Turkey and the Islamic world, "there's a sense of goodwill toward the U.S. and particularly toward President Obama," Aliriza said.