Posted on 10/23/2003 1:24:13 PM PDT by Korth
President George W Bush went to Bali, site of the worst terrorist atrocity since the September 11 attacks, yesterday to praise Islam as a religion of liberty and tolerance.
Mr Bush's trip was an attempt to tackle anti-American sentiment in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation.
At a press conference in Bali, where 202 people were killed when Islamic extremists linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'eda network blew up two packed nightclubs a year ago, Mr Bush said: "Terrorists who claim Islam as their inspiration defile one of the world's greatest faiths.
"Murder has no place in any religious tradition."
Mr Bush said he wanted to correct what he felt was a misconception that the war on terrorism was a cover for a war against Islam or that Americans thought all Muslims were terrorists.
He paid tribute to the victims of the Bali bombings and praised his host, President Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia, for hunting down terrorists.
Three of the Bali bombers have been sentenced to death but critics have accused Indonesia's secular government of failing to explain the dangers of radical Islam to its people and to tackle militancy at its roots, especially in radical Muslim boarding schools.
Owing to security concerns, Mr Bush spent only four hours on the resort island and chose to remain at a hotel five minutes' drive from the airport where his meetings were held.
Flights were postponed throughout his visit and as he spoke, just yards from the Indian Ocean, warships could be seen patrolling offshore. Five thousand heavily armed police and troops backed up by sniffer dogs and bomb squad units were deployed.
The brevity of his trip underlined how much more dangerous Indonesia and South-East Asia have become since the boom era of the 1980s and early 1990s. When Ronald Reagan visited, he stayed three nights in Bali, hosted by the dictator Suharto.
Mr Bush made a point of meeting leaders of two moderate Muslim organisations which represent about 50 million of the 210 million population.
They pointed out that American policies in the Middle East were a root cause of terrorism and asked him to listen more to the rest of the world. "We told him US foreign policy should seek a new paradigm if the US wants to be respected by the world community and be safe," said Syafii Maarif, head of one of the groups, Muhammadiyah.
"It was an open and lively meeting which we did not expect."
Thousands of protesters - including Mrs Megawati's sister - gathered at an independence monument in the centre of the capital, Jakarta, to demonstrate against Mr Bush's visit,
Mr Bush arrived last night in Australia, the last stop on his six-day, six-nation tour.
Where is Charles Taylor now? Most of the despotism in Africa is Islamic despotism. Do the names Rwanda, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, ring a bell?
Homeland Security is all but a joke, we're still extremely dependent on ME energy, still no serious border control (or plans for any), and islam is praised while Gen. Boykin is rebuked. Don't like how things are sizing up since 9/11 at all.
Supposing Islam is a murderous religion and we must defeat many of them by force, it is still wise to provide an "Allah-Allah-In-Come-Free" zone to which the formerly murderous and recently chastened can retire.
While saying he is called to love people regardless of their faith, evangelist Franklin Graham on Sunday wouldn't back away from his recent statement on a national news program that Islam "is a very evil and wicked religion."
In a prepared statement released to The Observer through a spokesman, Graham said his Samaritan's Purse ministry in Boone will continue providing millions of dollars in aid to Muslims in need around the world. But he did not take back the controversial comments aired Friday night on "NBC Nightly News" and repeated on cable stations.
Those pieces were based on an interview Graham gave last month near Wilkesboro, at the dedication of a chapel in his parents' name, when he said: "We're not attacking Islam but Islam has attacked us. The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God and I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion."
[...] Graham, 49, does not plan to comment publicly on the issue, and only will release Sunday's statement in response to questions. His response comes a day after his ministry's Operation Christmas Child began processing 1 million shoe boxes in Charlotte for needy children overseas - including thousands destined for largely Muslim nations.
His comments were challenged by former Charlottean Ali Akber, who helped organize a meeting between local Jews and Muslims after Sept. 11, before he relocated to Maryland.
"That's spreading hatred," said Akber. "It is the same God. We just don't worship the same way. We all believe in God and charity and worshipping and not doing any evil."
These statements by Pres. Bush bother me.
Well if you're going to mention all of that don't forget to mention that after Yemen caught the ten terrorists responsible for bombing the USS Cole it allowed all ten of them to escape. What a coincidence! All ten! And all the while Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are 'cooperating' in the war on terror, OBL is still in western Pakistan, he 's still being funded and Pak and SA have made a nuclear proliferation deal.
Crusader: Most of these Jews sailed to Rome, where they were welcomed by the Pope. I'm curious as to where you got this information from?
Initially, from my family history. Some of my ancestors on my mother's side went from Spain to the Ottoman empire... and then, foolishly, up into Russia. The rest from reading here and there. A search on Google on either Jews and Bayazid or Jews and "Kemal Reis" (the admiral who helped bring many of the Jews out of Spain) will find that.
In fact, according to at least one source -- http://www.sephardicstudies.org/sultans1.html -- Of the 600,000 Jews in Spain at that time, half chose to convert. Of the remaining half, 150,000 went to the Ottoman Empire, by far the lion's share of the Jews who fled.
The Ottoman Empire wasn't always friendly towards Jews. Still for most of the past 500 years it, followed by Turkey, has been a haven for them -- http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/vjw/Turkey.html#A%20Haven%20for%20Sephardic%20Jewry
It doesn't surprise me, though, that the Pope took some, as well, for all that Alexander VI was a Borgia. After all, my step-daughter is descended from the Borgias on her genetic father's side and we get along great 8>)
Then there was the 4th Crusade, which never got to Muslim countries and attacked Constantinople instead. It would be more than 50 years before the Byzantines took back Constantinople.
The Byzantines had been a bulwark against Islam before that, but they never recovered from the 4th Crusade. Less than 200 years later, the Muslims took Constantinople, which is today's Istanbul.
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