George W. Bush: We Are Not at War With Islam #tbt

"Americans understand we are not fighting a religion -- ours is not a campaign against the Muslim faith."

Screen Shot 2015-02-19 at 11.45.08 AMGiven the President’s remarks at the White House’s summit to counter violent extremism — in which he proclaimed “we are not at war with Islam. We are at war with people who have perverted Islam” — and the debate over linguistics that has followed, it seems appropriate on this “Throwback Thursday” to take a look at the rhetorical parallels between Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush on this subject.

Below are some clips complied by “The Rachel Maddow Show,” in which President Bush distinguishes between the reality of America’s war on terrorism, and the narrative pushed by terrorist organizations of a religious conflict between Islam and the West:

  • “These acts of violence against innocence violates the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith, and it’s important for my fellow Americans to understand that”
  • “The enemy of america is not our many Muslim friends, it is not our many Arab friends.”
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