Security has been stepped amid protests by some Indonesians against Clinton's visit [AFP]Hillary Clinton has arrived in Indonesia on a visit aimed at "reaching out" to the Muslim world.
She is on a four-nation tour of Asia - her first foreign trip since becoming secretary of state in the Obama administration.
Upon her arrival in Jakarta on Wednesday, Clinton is expected to hold talks with senior government officials, including Susilo Yudhoyono, the president.
Addressing students at Tokyo University in Japan on Tuesday, she said: "We have a responsibility to speak out and to work with the Muslim world on behalf of positive change and to enlist the help of Muslims around the world against the extremists.
"And it is very difficult in many parts of the world today to do that."
'New way forward'
In his inauguration address on January 20, Barack Obama, the US president, vowed to seek a "new way forward" with Muslim majority countries, "based on mutual interest and respect".
Clinton acknowledged on Tuesday that the war in Iraq was a key stumbling block to better US-Muslim ties.
She also said that one of the central security challenges faced by the US government is "how to better communicate in a way that gets through the rhetoric and through the demagogy and is heard by people who can make judgements about what we stand for and who we truly are".
Clinton's remarks came in response to a question about "prejudice" in the US against Muslims, a term she rejected, pointing to the history of Christians.
"I am a Christian," she said.
"Through the centuries we have had many people who have done terrible things in the name of Christianity. They have perverted the religion."
Security tightened
Security had been stepped up in Jakarta in advance of Clinton's arrival.Thousands of policemen were deployed across the Indonesian capital as officials prepared for possible attacks from extremist groups or unrest linked to anti-US demonstrations.
Indonesia has had a love-hate relationship with the US since the 1960s, marked by US support for Suharto, who was ousted as president in 1998 and was viewed by many as a military dictator.
Many Indonesians also oppose the "war on terror" launched by the previous US administration of George Bush.
Shifting focus
Karim Raslan, a political analyst, told Al Jazeera that countries outside Asia have been the focus of the US, and will remain so.
"I am not sure just how successful her trip will, considering the Middle East and the Arab world, continue to be a major focus for the Obama administration, and considering the turmoil currently going on, will probably be for a long time to come," he said.
"But I do think it's a good thing to shift focus, briefly to Southeast Asia, and particularly Indonesia, as it is considered a sleeping power."
Analysts say Obama, who spent several years of his youth living in Jakarta, could be trying to capitalise on his emotional ties to Indonesia as he seeks to improve relations with the Muslim world, amid daunting political challenges ranging from the Palestinian territories to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. - Al-Jazeera
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