Conceding that the United States faced an image problem, President George W Bush blamed the Arab media for pounding the airwaves with the message of America being anti-Islam.
At the end of the President's speech in Philadelphia on Monday, an Indian American identifying himself as a Sunni Muslim asked Bush what the US is going to do 'in the broader battle of creating a favourable image and reaching out to people across the world?'
"I recognise we got an image issue, particularly when you have television stations, Arabic television stations that are constantly just pounding America, creating - saying America is fighting Islam, Americans can't stand Muslims, this is a war against a religion," Bush said.
"And we've got to, obviously, do a better job of reminding people that ours is not a nation that rejects religion; ours is a nation that accepts people of all faith, and that the great strength of America is the capacity for people to worship freely," he added.
Conceding the difficulty of countering this propaganda machine which is 'pretty darn intense', Bush said his administration is constantly sending out messages to reassure people.
Bush also cited two instances where America's image in the Muslim world had improved.
"One is the tsunami. The tsunamis hit; it was the United States military, through the USS Abraham Lincoln, which provided the logistical organisation necessary to save a lot of lives. We moved. A lot of people kind of sat around and discussed; not us. We saw a problem and we moved," he said.
Bush claimed that US had also been the first on the scene of the devastating earthquake that hit South Asia in October.
"Same in Pakistan. The earthquake in Pakistan is devastating. The United States of America was first on the scene. We got a lot of kids flying choppers all around that country providing help and aid," he said.
"And so I guess what I'm saying to you is, is that a proper use of influence that helps improve people's lives is the best way to affect - to change the image of our country, and to defeat the propaganda," the President added.