Franklin Graham Says Obama's 'Sympathy to Islam' Will Lead to Christian and Jewish Persecution in America

Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, addresses the crowd at the Festival of Hope, an evangelistic rally held at the national stadium in Port-au-Prince, January 9, 2011

The Rev. Franklin Graham has warned in an interview that President Barack Obama is "very sympathetic to Islam" and that America's foreign policy is influenced by Muslims. He added that this influence could lead to Christians and Jewish people being persecuted in the United States.
"There are Muslims that have access to him in the White House. Our foreign policy has a lot of influence now, from Muslims. We see the prime minister of Israel being snubbed by the president and by the White House and by the Democrats and it's because of the influence of Islam. They hate Israel and they hate Christians, and so the storm is coming, I believe," Graham told Gordon Robertson, host of CBN's "The 700 Club" interactive program
Graham further pointed out that Obama had a Muslim father, and that as a child the president went to school in Indonesia, which has the largest Islamic population in the world.

"So, growing up his frame of reference and his influence as a young man was Islam. It wasn't Christianity, it was Islam," the evangelist said.
Graham has criticized Obama's foreign policy on a number of occasions, including the president's refusal to call terror group ISIS "Islamic."
"The truth is — their barbaric murderers openly said they killed them because they were 'people of the cross.' Why is the president seemingly continuing to protect Islam and refusing to open his eyes to the truth?" Graham asked when an initial statement by the White House in February failed to identify the 21 Copts beheaded by ISIS as Christians.
Obama has responded to conservative criticism by asserting that he does not identify ISIS as "Islamic" because he doesn't want to give the terror group the legitimacy that it wants.
"These terrorists are desperate for legitimacy. And all of us have a responsibility to refute the notion that groups like ISIL somehow represent Islam, because that's a falsehood that embraces the terrorists' narrative," Obama said, using another name for ISIS.
Obama's has often stated that he's a Christian, and in January said that anyone who questions his faith does not know him.
"In our lives, Michelle [Obama] and I have been strengthened by our Christian faith. Still, as you may know, my faith has at times been questioned — by people who don't know me — or they've said that I adhere to a different religion, as if that were somehow a bad thing," the president has said.
A poll released last week as part of the 2014 Cooperative Congressional Election Study found that many Americans don't believe "deep down" that Obama is a Christian, however.
As many as 54 percent of Republicans who responded to the survey said that Obama is really a Muslim, and only 45 percent of Democrats said that Obama is a Christian. More Independents, at 26 percent, said that Obama is a Muslim, than those who said he is a Christian, at 16 percent.
Credit to Stoyan Zaimov

Respectfully, Mr. President: American Muslims are not Afraid

Dear President Barack Obama,

You mentioned in a recent Los Angeles Times op-ed: “But we know that many Muslim Americans across our country are worried and afraid.” Gee, Mr. President, with all due respect, did any Muslim American leader tell you that most American Muslims, although concerned, are also patient, faithful, believe in the power of prayer, and have put our trust in our Lord?

You see Mr. President, to many of us, Islam is a religion; not a political ideology. And as such, there are numerous verses in our scripture and prophetic traditions that teach us how to deal with negative statements about Muslims and Islam. I'll just mention a couple:

    All that is with you is bound to come to an end, whereas that which is with God is everlasting. And most certainly shall We grant unto those who are patient in adversity their reward in accordance with the best that they ever did.” 16:96.

Here's one more:

    Endure, then, with patience (all that they who deny the truth may say] -always remembering that it is none but God who gives thee the strength to endure adversity and do not grieve over them, and neither be distressed by the false arguments which they devise.” 16:27.

So you see Mr. President, some American Muslims simply do not have the time to sit around being afraid and worried about anti-Muslim sentiment. Our faith and trust in the Lord keeps us calm.

Some of us are more concerned about health care, unemployment, paying our bills, and getting our children through college than we are about who praises or criticizes Muslims.  Don't get me wrong Mr. President, this doesn't mean we are not concerned about the rising anti-Muslim rhetoric. However, that's not the only thing that we are concerned about. Some of us are concerned about the erosion of free speech in this great country of ours. Some of us are concerned that there are American Muslim leaders who fraudulently claim to speak for all of us when, in fact, they do not and cannot speak for us all.

Some American Muslims believe that in the United States of America people have the right to like or dislike whoever or whatever they want, as long as they do not resort to violence or break the law. In fact, Mr. President, American Muslims believe that our right to live as Muslims and to love Islam is connected to the right of others not to be Muslim and to dislike, even hate, Islam. American Muslims are not a tribe, we don't have tribal chiefs imbued with the authority to tell all of us what to think, what to like or not like, how to feel, or what to fear.

If you really want to know who American Muslims are, Mr. President, you might want to ask around a little bit more, and not rely on a few Muslim political organizations. By the way, we didn't elect those guys to represent us in the first place. We did elect you to be our President, and I at least expect you to dig a little deeper before you ask our entire country to give American Muslims a special pass that other groups who have endured negative criticisms of their faith did not have.  Some American Muslims prefer not to be held hostage by fear and anxiety about things that we do not control. Only God has full control over what is in people's hearts. Our time is better spent believing and trusting in Him and calling ourselves into account, before the Day comes when we are called into account.

You know Mr. President, I clearly remember when the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. I was a fourth grader at Francis D. Pastorious Elementary School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We were all instructed to go outside, stand in full assembly, and sing “We Shall Overcome.” The second chorus was, “We are not afraid.” I wasn't afraid then, and I sure as heck am not going to start being afraid now. It does not serve any noble purpose that Americans, Muslim or non-Muslim, live in a perpetual state of fear.

In the meantime I will defend, without violence, the right of any and every American, whether they like Islam, hate Islam, are ambivalent towards Islam, or are an adherent of Islam, to speak according to his or her own conscious and conviction, whether it be political, religious, satirical, or editorial. You can tell people who you want them to be, but you cannot tell them who they are and what to think. I believe that God will call every person into account on the Day of Judgment based upon who they are, not who they said they were, or who someone else thought they were. In the end, it is God who will decide who is right and who is wrong, and at that time nothing else will matter. I don't speak for all American Muslims, Mr. President. In fact, I don't believe anyone can – that's just my take on it, sir. If I can be of any additional service, please contact me. I'm sure you have my number.

Imam Luqman Ahmad

Critics on Islam: Time to Face Facts, Mr. President

President Barack Obama insisted Thursday that Islamist terrorist groups committing atrocities from the Middle East to Africa to Europe do not represent Islam, calling the idea that the West is at war with Islam "an ugly lie."

The president addressed delegates from more than 60 countries at the closing session of a summit on "Countering Violent Extremism," hosted by the U.S. State Department in Washington.

Obama said the nations gathered "must remain unwavering in our fight against terrorist organizations."

In one part of the address, the president appeared to be responding to administration critics, who have pointed out that the White House refuses to use the term "Islamic" when referring to terrorist groups such as al Qaeda, ISIS, and Boko Haram, who are committing atrocities against Jews, Christians, and other non-Muslims.

"Obviously, there is a complicated history between the Middle East and the West, and none of us, I think, should be immune from criticism in terms of specific policies. But the notion that the West is at war with Islam is an ugly lie -- and all of us, regardless of our faith, have a responsibility to reject it," he cautioned.

On Wednesday, the president explained he doesn't want to mention Islam when talking about terrorism because it would give Islamic radicals a tool they can use to recruit new fighters.

 Video: Obama Not at War with Islam Declaration Mocked 

"We must acknowledge that groups like al Qaeda and (ISIS) are deliberately targeting their propaganda to Muslim communities, particularly Muslim youth," he said.

But even the president refused to admit any connection between the Islamic State terrorists and Islam, he said we need to "tackle" the issue head on.

"We can't shy away from these discussions. And too often folks are understandably sensitive about addressing some of these root issues, but we have to talk about them, honestly and clearly," Obama said.

But critics are mocking the president and his administration for not using phrases like "Islamic terrorism."

Thursday's New York Post shows a picture of the president blindfolded with the caption "Islamic Terror? I Just Don't See It."

Cliff May, president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, says the president and his administration need to acknowledge that radical Islam is behind terrorism and groups like ISIS.

"We're kind of avoiding making decisions now and we're saying things that really nobody that's informed about these matters can actually believe," Cliff May, president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told CBN News.

"He thinks he's doing it because he wants to avoid the impression that this is in any way a religious war – it was 21 Coptic Christians who had their heads taken off by the Islamic State," May said.

This week's White House summit came after the State Department recently, and quietly, hosted a meeting with members of the Muslim Brotherhood -- much to the outrage of the governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Israelis were also surprised.

"We just don't understand because we know the history of the Muslim Brothers. We know exactly who they are," Zvi Mazel, former Israeli ambassador to Egypt, said.

"So how come, the United States, the administration, in that case the president himself and the State Department, receive delegation of the Muslim Brothers?" he asked.

Credit to John Waage and Charlene Aaron

Obama tells Muslims: don't let Isis hijack your religion and identity

Islamic State does not speak for you and ‘we are not at war with Islam’, declares US president at counter-extremism summit

Muslims in the US and around the world have a responsibility to fight the idea that terrorist groups like Islamic State speak for them, Barack Obama has declared in his most direct remarks yet about any link between Islam and violent extremism.

“We are not at war with Islam,” Obama said. “We are at war with people who have perverted Islam.”

In the first of two speeches to a counter-extremism summit in Washington, the president reiterated his determination to avoid letting the agenda become characterised as a battle against Islam, saying this would be playing into the hands of Isis and other terrorist groups.

“They propagate the notion that America, and the west generally, is at war with Islam; that’s how they recruit, that’s how they try to radicalise young people,” he said.

“Just as leaders like myself reject the notion that terrorists like Isil genuinely represent Islam, Muslim leaders need to do more to discredit the notion that our nations are determined to suppress Islam.”

For weeks the Obama administration has sidestepped the question of whether deadly terror attacks in Paris and other western cities amount to “Islamic extremism”, wary of offending a major world religion or lending credibility to the “war on terror” waged by George Bush.

But as he hosted the summit at the White House, the president said some in Muslim communities had bought into the notion that Islam was incompatible with tolerance and modern life.

While putting the blame on Isis and similar groups — Obama said the militants masqueraded as religious leaders but were really terrorists — the president also appealed directly to prominent Muslims to do more to distance themselves from brutal ideologies, calling it the duty of all to “speak up very clearly” in opposition to violence against innocent people.

Obama acknowledged it was a touchy subject but insisted it was critical to tackle the issue “head-on”.

“We can’t shy away from these discussions,” he said. “And too often folks are understandably sensitive about addressing some of these root issues, but we have to talk about them honestly and clearly.”

The president differentiated militant groups from the “billion Muslims who reject their ideology”. Isis was killing far more Muslims than non-Muslims, he said, and called for the world community to elevate the voices of those who “saw the truth” after being radicalised temporarily.

Obama acknowledged many Muslims in the US had a suspicion of government and police and felt they were unfairly targeted – confounding efforts to strengthen co-operation between law enforcement and Muslim communities. He praised Muslims who have served the US and other capacities for generations.

“Of course that’s the story extremists and terrorists don’t want the world to know: Muslims succeeding and thriving in America,” Obama said. “Because when that truth is known it exposes their propaganda as the lie that it is.”

Obama has long tried to shift his administration’s terror rhetoric away from what he saw as the hyperbolic terminology used by his predecessor, George Bush, particularly Bush’s declaration in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks that the US was engaged in a “war on terror”.

On Wednesday Obama said: “If we’re going to prevent people from being susceptible to the false promises of extremism, then the international community has to offer something better and the United States intends to do its part.”

Issuing such a direct challenge to Muslims to disown the ideology of extremist groups marked a clear departure from the restrained, cautious language Obama and his aides have used to describe the situation in the past.

In the days after last month’s shootings at a satirical French newspaper that had caricatured the prophet Muhammad, Obama avoided calling the attack an example of “Islamic extremism” and instead opted for the more generic “violent extremism”. Recently the White House also struggled to explain whether the US believed the Afghan Taliban to be a terrorist organisation.

The refusal to directly assess any Islamic role in the terrifying scenes playing out in Europe, the Middle East and Africa has drawn criticism from those who say Obama has prioritised political correctness over a frank acknowledgement of reality. National security hawks, in particular, have argued that Obama’s counterterrorism strategy couldn’t possibly be successful if the president was unable or unwilling to confront the true nature of the threat.

Yet the argument over terminology has increasingly become a distraction, including this week as Obama gathered law enforcement officials, Muslim leaders and lawmakers for a three-day summit on violent extremism.

Obama echoed the concern over the killings in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, though he did not directly address the question of the murderer’s motive, preferring to emphasise the solidarity of other Americans.

“Most recently, with the brutal murders in Chapel Hill of three young Muslim Americans, many Muslim Americans are worried and afraid and I want to be as clear as I can be: as Americans of all faiths and backgrounds, we stand with you in grief and we offer our love and we offer our support,” he said.

Obama is due to speak again on Thursday when delegates from about 65 countries gather for the summit’s closing session at the state department.

Chapel Hill 'hate crime' response criticised by Muslim lawmaker

Keith Ellison also rebukes ban on US money transfers to Somalia in speech at White House summit on countering violent extremism.

Washington’s first Muslim congressman has publicly rebuked the Obama administration’s terrorism strategy during a White House summit on countering violent extremism, warning that recent moves to prevent money transfers to Somalia risked radicalising its large expatriate community in the US.

Keith Ellison, who represents a Minnesota district with the highest Muslim population in the US, also criticised the response to the murder of three students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, arguing that a failure to prosecute hate crimes fuelled the narrative that America was at war with Islam.

Ellison’s remarks came on the second day of a summit characterised until now by vice-president Joe Biden’s claims the US was more experienced than Europe at preventing extremism because of its history as a immigrant nation.

But Ellison drew applause from an audience of Muslim community leaders at the White House with a series of pointed criticisms of the way the US handles religious minorities.

“The violent extremist makes the case that America is at war with Islam and Muslims, and we have to assert that this is not true; not just in word, but in deed,” he said.

“The reason we are susceptible to violent extremism is that we have not deepened opportunity enough ... economic deprivation makes people susceptible to being lured and seduced,” Ellison said. “But the other part is social and legal deprivation as well.”

The congressman said he had flown to the summit with the “sole purpose of ringing the alarm bell” over a recent decision to prevent US banks handling money transfers to Somalia.

The move was intended to prevent funding of terrorist groups operating in east Africa, but has sparked alarm among development experts by also cutting off an estimated $215m in annual remittances to Somali families from their relatives in the US.

“On February 6, our financial services system stopped working with Somali money-wiring services to send money to Somalia,” said Ellison. “This is important because in the region, the violent extremist wants to be able to say ‘See, they won’t even let your relatives send you money.’ They want to be able to say that and we have got to be able to stop them from saying that.”

He also joined a growing chorus of voices expressing concern at the relatively slow response and limited public reaction to the shooting of three Muslim students, which police initially claimed was over a parking dispute, but had now sparked an FBI inquiry due to the alleged anti-religious views of their killer.

“It’s important that law enforcement prosecute hate crimes against Muslims … It’s important that we at least admit that what happened in Chapel Hill probably was not only about a parking space,” said Ellison.

“This defies our sense of logic and common sense. This actually helps to support the false narrative of violent extremism; they want to make the case that America hates you, is against you, join us.”

“Razan, Yusor and Deah – the three victims – were living, walking, breathing examples of countering violent extremism until their lives were taken away,” added the congressman. “Let us not slip into a mistaken idea that terrorism is somehow a Muslim idea.”

In the first of two speeches to the summit, Obama later echoed the concern over the killings in North Carolina, though did not directly address the question of the murderer’s motive, preferring to emphasise the solidarity of other Americans.

“Most recently, with the brutal murders in Chapel Hill of three young Muslim Americans, many Muslim Americans are worried and afraid and I want to be as clear as I can be: as Americans of all faiths and backgrounds, we stand with you in grief and we offer our love and we offer our support,” he said.

The president also reiterated his determination to avoid letting the counter-extremism agenda become characterised as a battle against Islam, saying this would be playing into the hands of terrorists and the Islamic State.

“They propagate the nation, the American, and the West generally, is at war with Islam; that’s how they recruit, that’s how they try to radicalise young people,” he said.

“We must never accept the premise that they put forward because it is a lie. Nor should we grant these terrorists the religious legitimacy that they seek.”

Earlier in the summit, Sheikh Sa’ad Musse Roble, a Minneapolis imam, introduced a session examining the city’s attempts to counter violent extremism by reading a passage from the Qur’an on the sanctity of human life.

The summit, which will be addressed by Barack Obama later on Wednesday and Thursday, was also attended by the mayor of Paris, and British home secretary Theresa May.

Ellison concluded it was important the democracies show equal treatment to their citizens if they wish to avoid radicalising disaffected young minorities.

“The best defence to violent extremism is to adhere to our values. So that when a young person who could go one way or another is walking around Minneapolis wondering ‘What should I do’, and they are hearing that America’s at war with Islam and maybe that’s true because I don’t have a job and I can’t send money to my family … if we adhere [to our values], respect the faith of all and include more people we will have a safer, better community,” he said.

Credit to Dan Roberts