Muslims want action after words

When Barack Obama strode on to the podium at Cairo University to deliver his address to the Muslim world on Thursday, Saudis were glued to their television screens.

They were already delighted that the US president had recognised the crucial role of their kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, and had visited King Abdullah before travelling to Egypt.

It was their society that had felt most stigmatised by the terror attacks of September 11 2001, an atrocity carried out largely by Saudis.