Franklin Graham rips pope over Islamic terror

Franklin Graham

Franklin Graham, who heads up the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Samaritan's Purse relief charity, has rebuked Pope Francis for saying that while the world is at war, the conflict has nothing to do with religion.

"It most certainly is a war of religion," Graham said in a posting on Facebook.

CNN reported Francis said the world "is at war because it has lost peace."

"There is a war of interest, there is a war for money, a war for natural resources, a war to dominate people. Some might think it is a war of religion. It is not," he said.

"All religions want peace. Others want war," the pope claimed.

His statements came shortly after Islamic jihadists killed a Catholic priest in France.

"ISIS Exposed: Beheadings, Slavery, and the Hellish Reality of Radical Islam" is veteran investigative reporter Erick Stakelbeck's story of the true motivations, inner workings and future plans the new caliphate

Graham said: "I agree that the world is at war – but I disagree that it's not a war of religion. It is most certainly a war of religion."

He said religion "is behind the violence and jihad we're seeing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and here in this country."

"It's a religion that calls for the extermination of 'infidels' outside their faith, specifically Jews and Christians. It's a religion that calls on its soldiers to shout 'allahu akbar' ["Allah is supreme" in Arabic] as they behead, rape, and murder in the name of Islam. Radical Islamists are following the teachings of the Quran," he wrote.

"We should call it what it is."

Some Catholics don't agree with their leader.

Religion News Service reported U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke, a former Vatican official who is based in Rome, said last month that Islam "wants to govern the world" and Americans must decide if they are going to reassert "the Christian origin of our own nation" to avoid submission to Muslim rule.

WND reported Graham recently called out President Obama for refusing to recognize and acknowledge the threat from Islamic radicalism and terrorism.

In a Facebook post at that time, Graham pointed out that Obama, in his statements about the Orlando, Florida, massacre by a radical Islamic terrorist at a bar for homosexuals, refused to call it an act of radical Islamic terrorism.

Obama, throughout his presidency, has refused to say the words Islamic terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism. Often, he's contended Islam actually is peaceful and those who carry out violence and terror against innocent victims in the name of Islam are perverting the faith.

Graham, however, said it's apparent Obama is wrong.

"I appreciate President Barack Obama speaking to the nation yesterday in the wake of the Orlando massacre. He was right in saying that this tragic shooting was an act of terror and hate," Graham wrote.

"But why didn't he say it was an act of radical Islamic terrorism?"

"Mr. President, with all due respect, don't forget Fort Hood; don't forget the Boston Marathon; don't forget San Bernardino; and don't forget 9/11. What do they all have in common? They were all Islamic terrorists carrying out their treachery in the name of their religion."

Graham continued: "Mr. President, your administration has cut our military to the bone, and some experts say we're the weakest we have been in modern times. It's time we were rebuilding our military force worldwide to take on this enemy. It's time we tighten America's borders until we can clearly vet those we're letting into the country.

"Mr. President, how many more American lives have to be lost before you understand the threat radical Islam is to every freedom-loving person?"

Obama called the attack by Omar Mateen, who in dialogue with police during the attack openly pledged allegiance to ISIS, "terror and an act of hate."

Obama claimed he wanted to "spare no effort to determine" Mateen's "inspiration."

Then, Obama turned political, talking about gun control and whether the U.S. wants to be a country where it is "easy" for someone "to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school, or in a house of worship, or a movie theater, or in a nightclub."

Last year, Graham even called for a halt to immigration to prevent terrorists from being allowed into the country.

"I think we should put a halt on immigration because our borders are broken, until we have a proper system to vet people," he said to CNN's Carol Costello. "I think all immigration, but especially those coming from the Middle East right now."