Mursi calls for cooperation between cultures

Egypt's new Islamist president Mohamed Mursi delivered a call on Tuesday for "genuine cooperation" between cultures, but in the wake of violent assaults on U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world he also cautioned that a joke in one culture may not be funny in another.

Speaking at a philanthropic meeting convened in New York by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Mursi signaled an embrace of multiculturalism as an alternative to a single culture seeking dominance.

"The world cannot become one culture or one civilization. However, can we have civilizations that live side by side, not against one another? It is possible," said Mursi. "Maybe a joke in one country is not funny in another country. That's the nature of culture."

Mursi's speech, one day before he is to address the United Nations General Assembly, came at a delicate time for relations between the United States and Egypt.

Once strong allies, the relationship has been strained in the aftermath of Egypt's pro-democracy uprising, which ousted autocratic President Hosni Mubarak.

An anti-Islam film posted on YouTube provoked protests across the Muslim world this month. Related violence included the storming of U.S. and other Western embassies, the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and a suicide bombing in Afghanistan.