Posted on 06/20/2002 12:21:33 PM PDT by Dallas
WASHINGTON --
President Bush disagrees with statements by a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention that criticized Islam and said many of America's problems can be blamed on religious pluralism, the White House said Thursday.
The Rev. Jerry Vines told thousands of delegates at the convention's annual meeting last week in St. Louis that, despite what pluralists say, "Islam is not just as good as Christianity."
"Islam was founded by Mohammed, a demon-possessed pedophile who had 12 wives -- and his last one was a 9-year-old girl," said Vines, pastor of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla. "And I will tell you Allah is not Jehovah either. Jehovah's not going to turn you into a terrorist that'll try to bomb people and take the lives of thousands and thousands of people."
The Rev. Jack Graham, the new president of the nation's largest Protestant denomination, has said his colleague's comments are accurate.
"It's something that the president definitely disagrees with," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
Bush has taken pains to call Islam a religion of mercy and peace and to stress that the U.S.-led battle against on terrorism is not a war against Muslims.
"Islam is a religion of peace, that's what the president believes," Fleischer said.
In remarks to the convention a day after Vines' address last week, Bush praised the Baptists for being "among the earliest champions of religious tolerance."
Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press
You agree with Bush on this?
puke...puke...puke...I'm so sick of hearing that garbage...puke...puke...puke...
Its not Bush's place to agree or disagree with the comments of private citizens regarding religion period.
"No choice"? Bah!
Dan
Last straw. Wasted my vote in 2000, I'd soon as vote for my dog instead of someone that is going to walk away from every conservative belief, political, moral, or religious. This is sad, but hey after all he's done, what else should we expect
This is supposed to be coalition building? Give me a break
Did Mohammed really have 12 wives, including a 9-year old girl?
I just don't see how a 9-year old girl can be a wife.
Bush still will not call Arafat and the PLO terrorists. He still believes the AMerican Muslim COuncil and Saudi propaganda that they are freedom fighters.
For a professing Christian, Bush is either amazingly ignorant about what the BIble and Koran say or he rejects what the Bible says in many areas.
Mainstream Christians are very vocal in their condemnation of the Klan. And in general, modern Christian-based societies are just societies - or strive to be.
OTOH, Mainstream Muslims, including leading clerics and Muslim governments, are extremely ambiguous and not at all passionate about condemning Muslim murderers -- if they condemn them at all. Moreover, contemporary Muslim-based societies are almost universally hellholes of oppression and brutality.
I don't think your analogy to Christianity holds even a little water.
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