A messianic Jewish leader is pleased that evangelist Franklin Graham continues to tell the truth about Islam and won't buckle to the demands of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Recently Graham was interviewed by CNN's Campbell Brown who asked the evangelist about comments he made in 2001 when he referred to Islam as "a very evil and wicked religion."
Graham did not back down from that assessment. Instead he replied that "true Islam cannot be practiced in this country. You can't beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they've committed adultery or something like that, which they do practice in these other countries," he explained. "I don't agree with the teachings of Islam, and I find it to be a very violent religion."
The Council on American Islamic Relations was incensed by Graham's latest comments and sent him a letter asking for a meeting to "clear up misconceptions" and offer "accurate and balanced information about Islam." The self-proclaimed "Muslim civil rights group" said Graham did not respond to a similar letter in 2001.
Jan Markell, founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries, argues that Franklin simply spoke the truth as "there are very few people who are willing to speak the truth about the Islamic issue." The ministry founder says she believes the "Crescent News Network woman" -- a reference to CNN -- wanted to imply that most Muslims are peaceful; however, Markell contends that if a Muslim is "following their Koran, then that doesn't make them a very peaceful candidate."
She further describes CAIR as an organization which is "extremely pathetic," and she wonders why they do not "just come out on their website and say, 'We're troublemakers.'"