Muslims groups angry with Bush
2006-08-11 09:50
Washington - US Muslim groups criticised US President George W Bush on Thursday for calling a foiled plot to blow up airplanes part of a "war with
Islamic fascists," saying the term could inflame anti-Muslim
tensions.
US officials have said the plot, thwarted by Britain, to
blow up several aircraft over the Atlantic bore many of the
hallmarks of al-Qaeda.
"We believe this is an ill-advised term and we believe that
it is counterproductive to associate Islam or Muslims with
fascism," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council
on American-Islamic Relations advocacy group.
Restraint
"We ought to take advantage of these incidents to make sure
that we do not start a religious war against Islam and
Muslims," he told a news conference in Washington.
"We urge him (Bush) and we urge other public officials to
restrain themselves."
Awad said US officials should take the lead from their
British counterparts who steered clear of using what he
considered inflammatory terms when they announced the arrest of
more than 20 suspects in the reported plot.
Hours after the news broke, Bush said it was "a stark
reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who
will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to
hurt our nation."
'Islamo-fascism'
Bush and other administration officials have used
variations of the term "Islamo-fascism" on several occasions in
the past to describe militant groups including al-Qaeda, its
allies in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff told MSNBC
television the phrase reflected what he called Osama bin
Laden's own vision of leading a totalitarian empire under the
guise of religion.
"It might may not be classic fascism as you had with
Mussolini or Hitler. But it is a totalitarian, intolerant
imperialism that has a vision that is totally at odds with
Western society and our rules of law," Chertoff said.