Below the mosque-crowned citadel of Cairo, huge roadbuilding machines were busy repaving the tarmac yesterday before President Obama’s visit, adding to the chaos of the city’s traffic. Bewildered commuters pondered how to get home as police sealed off the centre for security sweeps.

Some Egyptians were pleased that at least their cracked and pitted roads were receiving a facelift, even if it was only to convince the US leader that things are better than they appear. They were also hoping that his speech today, reaching out to the Muslim world, will not be as cosmetic as the city’s last-minute makeover.

“I really think it’s a big deal to people that he’s coming here to Egypt rather than addressing the Muslim world from the White House,” said Haytham al-Akkad, 21, a university student. “People are anxious to hear what he’s got to say.”

They are also clear about what they think he should say. The main message Muslims want to hear is a clear statement of respect for their religion, which they see as scorned in the eyes of the West. They also want a tough, even-handed approach on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

“If he wants to bridge the gap he must speak positively about Islam,” said Emad Gad, of the al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. He noted that Mr Obama had already appeared on Arabic-language news channels talking about his father and relatives in Kenya being Muslims, in an attempt to establish a bond with the man in the street.

He said that it was possible for Mr Obama to turn over a new leaf with the Arab world despite almost a decade of mistrust with George W. Bush.

“You have to understand the Arab mentality. They are dealing with persons, not policies or countries. They put all the blame on the Bush Administration, and are dealing with Obama as a fresh president with a positive agenda,” Mr Gad said.

As for the issue of the Palestinian conflict, many people in Cairo were pleased at the US Administration’s tougher stance on Israeli settlement-building, which Washington has said must stop completely as part of renewed peace efforts.

“I hope he’ll get serious on the Palestine issue,” said Yasmeen el-Khoudairy, 19, from Gaza, who is studying at the American University of Cairo.

“He has to stop Binyamin Netanyahu,” he said of the Israeli Prime Minister who refuses to endorse the idea of an independent Palestinian state, and backs continued “natural growth” of the half-million settler population in the territories that Israel conquered in 1967.

Most people here agree that settling the decades-long dispute between Israel and the Palestinians would undercut the bitterness that fuels so much Islamic militancy. Many also want him to press authoritarian Arab regimes to allow more political freedom, justice and respect for human rights — another force that propels people towards violence.

Mr Obama’s visit to the Saudi King, and his meeting today with President Mubarak, Egypt’s long-serving ruler, have prompted criticism that he will continue US backing of oil-rich states or those that stand up to Islamic militancy at the cost of human rights.

Few, however, thought that the US President should push the Arab leaders publicly — a move that could backfire and make Mr Obama appear naive.

“Democracy and human rights must be discussed behind closed doors. I think this will be more positive than speaking out,” said one political analyst.

He noted that any perceived slight to Mr Mubarak, who brooks no real opposition, could prompt the Egyptian leader to organise anti-American demonstrations or vilify the US in the state-run press.

One of Egypt’s most infamous sons, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the al-Qaeda deputy leader, sought to sour the US gesture to the Muslim world. On an Islamist website he said: “His bloody messages . . . are still being received by Muslims.”

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