Bush hails Islam to quell anti-US feelings (praises Islam as a religion of liberty and tolerance)

Daily Telegraph ^ | October 23, 2003 | Alex Spillius

[Roughneck]

He is wise to choose his battles. Seems to me he is setting them up to be one against the other, so maybe we won't have to be involved in policing a religion we want nothing to do with.

This is a new viewpoint (for me). It sounds reasonable. I'm gonna think on it awhile.

[TheCrusader]

"But then again I didn't see too many Christians crying out when Charles Taylor was instituting Christian despotism in Liberia."

Where is Charles Taylor now? Most of the despotism in Africa is Islamic despotism. Do the names Rwanda, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, ring a bell?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Hey, he did it with the Dems. They are killing each other off (figuratively).

[Paulie]

All we need now is for First Lady Laura Bush to be photographed kissing the likes of Mrs. Arafat like Hillary did back in her time in the White House.

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.

[Uncle Miltie]

"I know there must an underlying strategy that forces the President to utter this lie"

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.

[ryanjb2]

"Where the h@ll do you folks get your history from? There were no "denominational wars", as you call them, until after Martin Luther's revolt in the 16th century."

That is not true at all. During the 500's and 600's AD Eastern Christendom was split between Monophysite Christianity and Orthodox Byzantine Christianity. Ever hear about the Nika riots that destroyed most of Constantinople? The great Hagia Sofia was built over the ruins. The reason the Arabs took Egypt in 630's AD was that 1) The Byzantine Army was exhausted from fighting with Persia 2) Most of the veteran Byzantine soldiers from the Persian campaign were retired at the time Islam rose, leaving only fresh recruits, and 3) The Egyptians, who practice Monophysite Christianity hated the Byzantines, and let the Arabs in.

Not to mention the conflicts between Arian Christianty and Catholic Christianity in the West at the same time. Ever hear of the Vandals and Visigoths? They were Arian "Christians" who sacked Catholic Rome.

[Neenah]

Franklin Graham was right.((my heading)

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."

Source

These statements by Pres. Bush bother me.

[Spottys Spurs]

"You demoralize the good peoples of the USA by constantly spewing this PC BS Religion of Peace mantra!! Enough is enough!!"

I couldn't agree more. This is total bullsh#t!

[pgkdan]

And folks here don't seem to comprehend that a lot of the Al Qaeda terrorists that have been captured/killed have been thanks to predominantly Muslim governments (Pakistan, Yemen, Indonesia, even Saudi Arabia - finally!).

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.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Celtjew: "In fact, one of the significant Jewish returns to the Holy Land was shortly after 1492, when Ferdinand and Isabella kicked the Jews out of Spain and the Ottoman Sultan Beyazid II took as many in as he could get, allowing some to settle in what is now Israel."

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>)

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Not to mention the conflicts between Arian Christianty and Catholic Christianity in the West at the same time. Ever hear of the Vandals and Visigoths? They were Arian "Christians" who sacked Catholic Rome.

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.

[maro]

This can never happen. There is no centralized authority that can do this.

[missyme]

A mis-conception that Terrorists are Muslims? Oh I'm sorry I missed the lutheran, Jew, Baptist and Buddah Terrorist attacks?

[missyme]

ISLAM is a FALSE Religion always has been always will be. Muhammed can do nothing for the Muslim people accept lead the radical Islamic terrorists to there deaths.

[lodwick]

Bush is starting to smell from all the arab and Mexican butt kissing.

Amen.

[Norse]

What you just posted to me confirms that you have no understanding of what I just said. I'm American by the way.

[Clintonfatigued]

Try not to be too hard on Bush. There are 1 billion Muslims in the world, and we can't avoid dealing with them. You don't like it, and I don't like it, either. But it's the case, and they're on edge because America is at war in two Muslim countries, albiet with leaders (the Taliban and Saddam Hussein) that even they have little use for. So Bush has to go through the motions of being nice to them and trying to mollify them. Everybody has people in their lives that they dislike and wish would go away, but still have to deal with (neighbors and co-workers, for example). Well, Bush is coping with unavoidable bad neighbors on a global scale. Being as civil as circumstances allow is just the logical thing to do.