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                Obama: 'Terrorist' Groups Do Not Represent Islam

   by VOA News

   President Barack Obama concludes a three-day conference on countering
   violent radicalism Thursday with a speech before representatives of
   more than 60 nations at the U.S. State Department.

   During an address Wednesday before a group of community and religious
   leaders, Obama called on them to help fight "false promises of
   extremism" and reject the notion that "terrorist" groups represent
   Islam.

   The Obama administration has been careful not to put the focus of this
   week's summit solely on Islamic extremism, but on all forms of
   extremism.

   "They try to portray themselves as religious leaders, holy warriors,"
   Obama said Wednesday at the White House. "They are not religious
   leaders, they are terrorists. We are not at war with Islam. We are at
   war with people who have perverted Islam."

   He also appealed directly to prominent Muslims to do more to distance
   themselves from brutal ideologies.

   The president told delegates that the fight against extremism could not
   be won with military might alone.

   Extremism on the rise

   The summit comes as the United States and its allies are struggling
   with the rapid, bloody rise of the extremist group Islamic State in
   Iraq and Syria, and recent terrorist attacks in Australia, Canada,
   France, and Denmark.

   Until now, the United States has focused on its military fight against
   Islamic militants. Now, Obama said, it's time to get at the ideological
   aspect, and what causes young people to become vulnerable to
   radicalization.

   Obama said groups like Islamic State and al-Qaida "exploit the anger
   that festers when people feel that injustice and corruption leave them
   with no chance of improving their lives. The world has to offer today's
   youth something better."

   The president, who had brought together religious leaders, police and
   others at the White House summit Wednesday to tackle the root causes,
   said, "If we're going address the challenge of their efforts to recruit
   our young people, if we're going to lift up the voices of tolerance and
   pluralism within the Muslim community, then we've got to acknowledge
   that their job is made harder by a broader narrative that does exist in
   many Muslim communities around the world that suggests the West is at
   odds with Islam in some fashion."

   Officials from 60 countries, as well as spiritual leaders and police
   officials from across the United States, are attending the White House
   summit. Among those at the summit is Alexander Bortnikov, the director
   of Russia's Federal Security Service.

   Vice President Joe Biden opened the gathering Tuesday by touting the
   success of youth outreach programs in three big U.S. cities -- Boston,
   Los Angeles and Minneapolis, each with large immigrant populations.

   WATCH: Related video by VOA's Luis Ramirez.

   ''
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/president-obama-to-conclude-anti-extr
   emist-summit/2650187.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/president-obama-to-conclude-anti-extremist-summit/2650187.html