FRANKLIN GRAHAM MEETS WITH OBAMA BEFORE McCAIN – David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network: 'When they both met the other day in a roomful of religious leaders in Chicago, The Brody File was told that Franklin Graham and Sen. Barack Obama shook hands afterwards. Earlier we had reported that they hugged. A Franklin Graham spokesman called and said actually it was a handshake, not a hug. My source called it a 'man-hug' but whatever. ... A person who attended the meeting tells me that Obama and Graham discussed the situation in Darfur, Scripture, and Obama's Christian walk. ...
'Obama has made religion a very important part of the presidential race. He is reaching out to conservative and liberal religious leaders alike. The fact that Billy Graham's son, his successor, met with Obama before he met with McCain says a lot about Obama's religious outreach efforts. They are being VERY pro-active.'
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<http://www.religioustolerance.org/reac_ter18b.htm>
Franklin Graham appeared on the NBC Nightly News, commenting on Islam. He allegedly said: "We're not attacking Islam but Islam has attacked us. The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God, and I believe it [Islam] is a very evil and wicked religion." This statement is confusing because he seems to imply that Jews believe that Jesus is the son of God -- a belief that is contrary to historical Jewish belief. He continued: "I don’t believe this is a wonderful, peaceful religion. When you read the Koran and you read the verses from the Koran, it instructs the killing of the infidel, for those that are non-Muslim." When asked by NBC News to clarify his statement, Graham repeated his charge that Islam, as a whole, is an evil. "It wasn’t Methodists flying into those buildings, it wasn’t Lutherans. It was an attack on this country by people of the Islamic faith."
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<http://www.beliefnet.com/story/111/story_11117_2.html>
'A Deliberate Attack Against the Name of Jesus Christ' Franklin Graham on America as a Christian nation, his father, Islam, and how he prays
Interview by Deborah Caldwell
Q What do you make of the dust-up over your comments about Islam in October?
A I think every time there's another suicide bomber who detonates himself on a bus, I think there may be more people inclined to understand my comments. People say, "Well this is just a fringe element of Islam." There is this whole notion that it's a peaceful religion. Let me give you an example. If a Roman Catholic strapped dynamite on himself, walked into a mosque in Saudi Arabia and said, "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and Catholics around the world, I do this," then detonates himself and blows the mosque and himself up--the pope would be on television within minutes denouncing this man denouncing this act and having a fund-raising appeal, not for the family of the man who did this but for the families of the victims who got blown up in the mosque. Every cardinal, every bishop, every priest the next Sunday would denounce this man from the pulpit. Every Protestant minister would join the Catholics and denounce this.
But there has been silence from the Muslim clerics. There has not been denouncing of what happened here in New York City at the World Trade Center or what happened in Israel. And I link all of this together. There has not been condemnation by the clerics. Saudi Arabia has had fundraising appeals for the families of the suicide bombers, but not for the families of the victims. This is more evidence that something is wrong here.
Q Are you saying the faith itself is flawed? Is it the people or the faith, or both?
A I believe the Qur'an teaches violence. It doesn't teach peace, it teaches violence. But nowhere in Scripture do you ever hear the Lord Jesus Christ instructing violence, and when they came to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane and Peter pulls his sword and says he's going to defend Jesus-Jesus tells Peter to put it away. Jesus would never have a part in that sort of activity.
This is the greatest name in all of history and has stirred up more controversy, more division. You get into a group of people and mention Muhammad, you'll have some nice discussion. But you mention the name of Jesus Christ, now you're gonna have a very lively discussion and maybe heated arguments and it will divide. Because it's the name of God's son, the Lord Jesus Christ.