Date Posted: Tuesday, October 18, 2005

President Bush, at a White House Iftar dinner attended by some leaders of Muslim nations and some U.S. leaders, said they needed to denounce extremist violence.

WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (MASNET & News Agencies) - President George W. Bush told Muslim leaders and diplomats at an Iftar dinner that "all responsible Islamic leaders" must denounce terrorists who claim to act according to Islam.

"I believe the time has come for all responsible Islamic leaders to denounce an ideology that exploits Islam for political ends and defiles your noble faith," he said at the White House, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The remarks came as he hosted diplomats from Islamic nations and leaders of the U.S. Muslim community to dinner to mark Iftaar, the first day of the holy Muslim holiday Ramadan.

"Many Muslim scholars have already publicly condemned terrorism, often citing chapter 5, verse 32 of the Quran, which states that killing an innocent human being is like killing all of humanity, and saving the life of one person is like saving all of humanity," Bush said.

"I appreciate those of you here who have joined these scholars in rejecting violent extremists,” he said.

Bush said those in the room share a conviction that the United States must be free of religious discrimination and that the world must be safer and more peaceful. He said he was grateful to Muslim nations that have helped in the war on terrorism, reports the Associated Press (AP).

"We must be very clear about the enemies we face: The killers who take the lives of innocent men, women and children, are followers of a violent ideology, very different from the religion of Islam," said Bush.

"The killers who take the lives of innocent men, women and children are followers of a violent ideology very different from the religion of Islam," he said. “These extremists distort the idea of jihad into the call for terrorist murder against anyone who does not share their radical vision, including Muslims from other traditions who they regard as heretics."

"Their strategy will fail."

Bush has hosted an Iftar dinner annually for the last five years in the State Dining Room. Attendees included ambassadors from Islamic nations, administration officials and some Muslim leaders in the Unites States, reports the AP.