American President slammed for his anti-Muslims approach

Islamic groups and Democrats criticize President Bush for failing to show support for the U.S. Muslim community.

The White House moved away from denouncing the cartoons satirizing Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), to condemning the violence that broke out following their publications.

The shift was in response to some U.S. officials who said that the initial reaction of the White House was an attack on freedom of speech.

But by refusing to denounce the cartoons, President Bush has put himself at odds with the Democrats. His refusal was seen by many as condoning anti-Islamic behavior.

This is not the first time Bush has been criticized for not doing enough to promote positive relations with Muslims.

Following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Bush was seen attending a mosque, and was heard distancing the general Muslim population from al-Qaeda. But "In the intervening years there has been an absence of this sort of positive message", Carroll Dougherty of the Pew Research Centre for the People and the Press said, echoing the view of Democrat critics.

Dougherty’s statement came in response to a recent poll conducted in the U.S. which found that negative feelings towards Islam are higher now than in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Muslim groups also blamed the media for the negative portrayal of Islam.

“If u don’t see any of the positive things that Muslims are doing in the world, then you are likely to have a negative image of Muslims,” said Council on American Islamic Relations spokeswoman Rabia Ahmed.

His point is, that George Bush has lost it with the muslims and he should try to rejoin relations again.

It says in the text:

Following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Bush was seen attending a mosque, and was heard distancing the general Muslim population from al-Qaeda. But "In the intervening years there has been an absence of this sort of positive message",

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From this we can see that Bush has stopped trying to defend muslims from the common label "muslims are terrorists" and "they favour Al-Qaeda".
(2 marks)

Iqram said:

From this we can see that Bush has stopped trying to defend muslims from the common label "muslims are terrorists" and "they favour Al-Qaeda".

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Perhaps he has given up trying to create a distinction because he has come around to think there is none. Why do you think that might be? Do you think that when George W Bush offered a hand to the Muslim communities of the world, they did all they could, or indeed anything at all, to show that he was right and that there was a clear distinction? When Blair stood next to a Imam and said that terrorism was not a Muslim thing, that Imam said that the 7-7 bombings were not carried out by Muslims. What do you think the appropriate response would be?