Full title: President Bush's Appointee to Commission on International Religious Freedom, Prof. Khaled Abou Al-Fadl, Warns Against Reelecting Bush
http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD61603Professor Khaled Abou Al-Fadl,(1) originally of Egypt, was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Commission on International Religious Freedom, where he is the only Muslim member. Recently he gave an interview to the Egyptian government weekly October in which he strongly criticized the American president. The following are excerpts from the interview: (2)
'Bush is a Religious Fundamentalist like Former Colonialists in Muslim Countries'
Question: "What is the truth about the connection between the Islamic organizations in America and the American government, today and in the recent past?"
Prof. Abou Al-Fadl: "Unfortunately, because of shortsightedness and ignorance, the Islamic organizations helped Bush reach the White House. I met with many leaders of these organizations and I told them that I have known Bush well since he was governor of Texas, where I live, and I am familiar with his bad policy, which does not bode well.
"During the election campaign, Bush gave the Islamic leaders a certain status... They lost their equilibrium. They did not listen – not only to me, but also to someone like Ralph Nader, who was a presidential candidate of Arab origin. He met with them and all but pleaded with them not to vote for Bush. He all but kissed their hands so they wouldn't. We told them that he
is a Christian religious fundamentalist and that the group around him, of the likes of Paul Wolfowitz and others, hold the same beliefs that accompanied colonialism's entrance to the Muslim countries in the 19th century."
'Bush Makes Continued American Aid in the World Contingent Upon Permitting Missionary Activity'
"When Bush came to the presidency, there was a revolution in American policy. He brought in religious Christian people. In the field, Bush permitted missionaries into Iraq before medicines. He is the first president in the history of America whose policy includes supporting Christian missionaries and applying pressure through them on some countries. He links them with continued American aid to some countries.
"Bush says that he respects Islam and wants to spread democratic standards in the Islamic countries. When we ask him what exactly these democratic standards that he calls for are, he has no answer, as if Islam was permitted to exist only provided that it was Islam according to American standards. I say also that unfortunately, there were at first some hesitations in the American administration regarding the raid on Afghanistan, but when it was carried out, it cost much less than they expected, and this spurred them on, in a way reminiscent of intoxication and drunkenness, to start thinking of invading Iraq, Syria, and Iran, and of changing the map of the region."
'20% of U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Suffer from Mental Conditions'
Question: "What is American public opinion on what is happening in Iraq?"
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