US President Barack Obama spoke at a White House Conference Wednesday entitled “The Summit on Countering Violent Extremism” devoting much of his speech to warnings against using terms like “militant Islam” and other manifestations of what he described as “Islamaphobia.” He also reiterated his oft-repeated message that the West is not at war with Islam but rather “with the people who have perverted Islam.” He added that “Religion is not responsible for violence and terrorism. People are responsible for violence and terrorism…They propagate the notion that America, and the West generally, is at war with Islam…that there’s an inevitable clash of civilizations.” He also lamented that “narrative” common in the Moslem world that all the problems in the Middle East are the result of Western “colonialism or conspiracy” and called on Moslem leaders to “discredit” that narrative. Read More
