On Wednesday, President Obama gave a speech intended to lay out a strategy for dealing with ISIS. Early in the speech, he said ISIS is not Islamic, even though the group now calls itself the "Islamic State." Hours earlier, CNS News said the Council on American-Islamic Relations wanted Obama to reject ISIS’ “misappro-priation of Islamic terms and concepts,” and recognize the terrorist group was created by “the lack of freedom and justice in the region.”
"Now, let's make two things clear," Obama said. "ISIL is not Islamic. No religion condones the killing of innocents. And the vast majority of ISIL's victims have been Muslim and ISIL is certainly not a state."
Obama went on to say the group took advantage of sectarian strife and Syria's civil war to gain territory in Iraq and Syria. He also went on to say the group is not recognized by any other nation.
"ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple," he added. It's vision, he explained, is to slaughter everyone who stands in its way.
Obama's statements, however, appear to be exactly what CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad said Muslims want to hear. According to CNS, leaders with CAIR and other Muslim groups were watching to see what Obama said on the issue.
“American Muslims will evaluate the president’s strategy based on his willingness to reject ISIS’ misappropriation of Islamic terms and concepts, his clear support for the mainstream opposition to Syria’s murderous regime, his insistence on a non-sectarian government in Iraq, and his recognition that ISIS was created and is fueled by the lack of freedom and justice in the region,” Awad said.
CNS said that ISIS "claims to be acting in the name of Islam, has declared an Islamic 'caliphate' and invokes Mohammed and the Qur’an in its propaganda material." The administration, however, has continually said ISIS is not related to Islam.
Twitchy said that a number of people disagreed with what appeared to be Obama's first main point. Many wondered what Obama thought the first "I" in "ISIS" stood for.
"Obama says ISIS not Islamic," one person said. "Someone should probably tell them that."
Another person said that Obama is "scared to death to blame Islam for anything." One Twitter critic sarcastically said the "Muslim brotherhood is an atheist group."
