President Barack Obama began a goodwill tour of the Muslim world, visiting King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. At the same time, a new audiotape surfaced from Osama bin Laden with new threats to the U.S.

In the recording, Bin Laden said that Obama inflamed Muslim hatred towards the U.S. by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants in Swat Valley and block Islamic law in the area. He also claimed that U.S. pressure led to a campaign of "killing, fighting, bombing and destruction" which prompted the exodus of a million Muslims in Swat Valley.

Osama's message was first broadcast on Wednesday on the Al-Jazeera Television network at almost the exact moment Obama touched down in Saudi Arabia.

Just one day earlier, Al Qaeda's #2 man dismissed Obama's trip aimed at repairing U.S. relations with the Muslim world, insisting that the overture is trumped by wars against Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In an audio message posted online, Ayman al-Zawahiri said:

"His bloody messages were received and are still being received by Muslims, and they will not be concealed by public relations campaigns or by farcical visits or elegant words."

Obama's visit in Saudi Arabia is a stop-over en route to Cairo, where he will deliver a speech that he has been promising since he began campaigning for the presidency - one which aims to set a new tone in America's dealings with the 1.5 billion Muslims of the world.

In a pre-trip interview with the BBC, Obama said:

"What we want to do is open a dialogue. You know, there are misapprehensions about the West, on the part of the Muslim world. And, obviously, there are some big misapprehensions about the Muslim world when it comes to those of us in the West."

Many Muslims are still very upset over the Iraq war, Guantanamo Bay, and the U.S.'s unwavering support of Israel. However, they are hoping that Obama, the son of a Kenyan Muslim who spent part of his childhood living in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, can help smooth things over.