Posted on 10/19/2003 12:53:02 PM PDT by Bobby777
WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites)'s national security adviser insisted Sunday that the U.S. fight against terrorism is not a war between Christianity and Islam, despite a top general's comments that seemed to say it is.
But Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) twice avoided a question about whether Bush will condemn statements by Army Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence.
"The president has been absolutely clear that this is not a war of religions," Rice told ABC's "This Week."
"Islam is a peaceful religion. The president is respectful of those who practice the Islamic faith," Rice said from Thailand, where Bush was attending a summit of Asian and Pacific nations.
The Pentagon (news - web sites) released a statement by Boykin late Friday in which he apologized for his characterizations of Islam and said he never meant to offend Muslims.
"I am not anti-Islam or any other religion," Boykin said. "I support the free exercise of all religions. For those who have been offended by my statements, I offer a sincere apology."
Rice was asked on ABC whether Bush would condemn Boykin's comments, in which he seemed to describe monotheistic Islam as a religion whose followers worship idols.
She replied by outlining the president's views of the religion, the fastest-growing religion in the United States. She said terrorists targeted in the U.S. anti-terrorism campaign are "people who murder and maim and in fact pervert Islam."
Asked again whether Bush would condemn Boykin's comments, she said: "The president's views on this are absolutely clear, and I think the president is very clear on what he means here. This is not a war between religions. No one should describe it as such."
A furor arose after reports were published about the statements by Boykin, in and out of uniform, in churches and elsewhere. Since the reports appeared, Boykin has told his superiors he will curtail his speechmaking.
After a 1993 battle with Osman Otto, a Muslim warlord in Somalia, Boykin said: "I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol." After Otto's capture, Boykin has said he told Otto, "You underestimated our God."
Boykin's statement said the comment was misinterpreted, that he spoke of Otto's "worship of money and power; idolatry," not of his religion. "He was a corrupt man, not a follower of Islam," Boykin said.
Pentagon officials issued Friday's statement after hours of debate over ways to put aside the stir over Boykin, whose job forces him to deal with security services in many Muslim states.
So is the old testament. There is something for everyone in both of them.
You are comparing apples and oranges, or more specifically, a religion as it is currently practiced with the literature it's based on. Are you saying Judaism is barbaric? In any case, if you happen to be of a more bloody mindset, there are more choice verses in the Koran that can be used to justify any killing you might want to indulge in.
So you are sure that
Islamic terrorists stand
for global Muslims?
Do the Democrats
stand for all Americans?
Are the globalists
America, too?
These days, Christian people must
try to look deeply...
All I do is describe Reality. Anyone is free to disagree with Reality if they want to.
In court cases, the muslims have actully used the defense of being peace loving muslim. While all the victims say in court that while being attacked the muslims called them "whores" because they were NOT muslims. AMAZING!!
Civilization and progressive thought has passed these islamics by.
islamics are like some kind of disgusting mongrel-pestilence preying on innocent people passing by them on the road to civilized life and thought.
All islamics are involved in the daily pursuit of of innocent victims on which to gorge themselves.... in the misguided belief that those activities will get them in their moon god's "paradise of perputual rape" of yet another group of innocents....virgins.
This is America, MR. JIHAD.... we can THINK AND BELIEVE differently than our polticians...even the ones we like. AMAZING IDEA HUH?
In your jihad world you have to walk in lock step with your mullah/koran.
Iran would be a great place for you, bub!
When ARE you leaving????
Hopeless, to say the least.
The increase is funded primarily by the saudis and their various terror front groups like CAIR. As I understand it, the two largest growth segments are prisons and the *military*.
There is a necessary asymmetry here that can be illustrated by your comment. They believe their God and yours are the same; you don't. In other words, you reject the very foundation of their combat with the west. It is well that you do.
Fundamentalist Islamics call it a religious war, but our politicians have understood the dangers in letting the enemy define the battle lines.
They say they have the true religion; we fight for the right to make that determination as individuals. I'll take this one step further, and it's a profound distinction: devout Christians believe that Christ will bring his kingdom to earth as he unfolds his plan for humanity. Humans simply must choose to believe in Christ to be saved. But fundamentalist Muslims believe that they should fight wars to bring about God's plan. Think about it: Christians trust God to bring heaven to earth; Muslim extremists think that mass murder is required to bring it about.
A hadith discussing the end times, in which Muslims will fight nonbelievers to trigger the onset of Judgement day reads as follows:
Allah's Apostle said, "You (i.e. Muslims) will fight wi the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, 'O 'Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.'"In other words, in this militant view of Islam, Muslims are to actually play a role in their God's plan by killing people who don't believe, especially Jews. Not all Muslims believe this, by the way.
The reason we refuse to call this a holy war is that we are beyond the concept as a civilization. Think about that! The Christian God does not need humans to fight wars for his name. But Americans of all creds will fight for our right to choose our own beliefs as individuals, and we will fight for others' rights to do the same.
We are therefore at war, whether we like it or not.
This is not just Osama bin Laden the terrorist and his Al Qaeda group, but rather Osama bin Laden the spiritual leader of hero of an estimated 10% of muslims worldwide.
That is over 100 million muslims worldwide who support Osama bin Laden!!!
If a leader in China had the support of 10% of the Chinese people and launched an attack on us with the magnitude of 11 September, we would be at war with China.
Why is it any different with Islam?
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