King Abdullah II of Jordan, speaking at a Feb. 2 gathering organized by evangelicals, urged Christians, Jews and Muslims to unite around common values and to consider terrorism as an “attack upon civilization” instead of a “clash of civilizations.”
Addressing the luncheon event of the yearly National Prayer Breakfast, King Abdullah told the audience of about 3,000, most of them evangelical Christians, that terrorists “do not preach the Islam of the Koran or the prophet Muhammad…. Theirs is a repugnant political ideology which violates the principles and statutes of traditional Islamic law.”
“In every generation, people of faith are tested,” the king said. “In our generation, the greatest challenge comes from violent extremists who seek to divide and conquer. Extremism is a political movement, under religious cover. Its adherents want nothing more than to pit us against each other, denying all that we have in common.”
Among the values the three religions share are a belief in one God and in the “Abrahamic scriptures,” as well as the commandments to love God and neighbor, he said.
The speech marked another step in King Abdullah’s recent efforts to provide a different understanding of Islam than that portrayed by terrorists. This was his first address to a large evangelical audience as part of that campaign. In his 13-minute speech, the king quoted the Koran eight times, the New Testament on seven occasions and the Old Testament twice.
Baptist Press