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Last update - 23:17 11/11/2007
U.S. evangelicals raise specter of 'Islamofascism' to rouse voters
By The Associated Press
Tags: Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani 

Following last month's Values Voter Summit in Washington, conservative Christian power-broker Gary Bauer sent an e-mail to supporters.

He ticked off the issues dear to activists in attendance. Opposition to "abortion-on-demand" and preservation of traditional marriage led the way.

Then the one-time presidential hopeful turned his attention to a different threat, one social conservative leaders hope will shake their constituents from their apathy about the 2008 presidential race.
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"The war against Islamofascism is in many respects a 'values issue,'" Bauer wrote. "That may seem like an odd statement at first glance, but, as I have often said, losing Western Civilization to this vicious enemy would be immoral."

From one perspective, branding "radical Islam" as a family values issue is yet another example of the broadening of the evangelical agenda. But next November, it also could energize one of the Republican Party's key voting blocs, much like anti-gay marriage measures did in 2004.

"It's the ultimate life issue," said Rick Scarborough, president of the Texas-based conservative Christian group Vision America. "If radical Islam succeeds in its ultimate goals, Christianity ceases to exist."

That might sound alarmist, but Scarborough's words illustrate how many conservative Christian leaders view matters of national security as a battle between good and evil - nothing short of a clash of civilizations.

With America at war in Iraq and continued aftershocks from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, national security is an issue for all the campaigns. But disagreement exists about how to frame the threat, with Republicans more likely to blame radical Islam and Democrats speaking more generally about terrorism.

The use of "Islamofascism" is another flashpoint. Proponents of the term argue that Islamic radicals who embrace totalitarian methods evoke European fascist movements of the early 20th century. Critics call it manufactured propaganda, a 21st-century scare tactic that fails to capture the complex causes of terrorism.

Several voices in evangelical political circles have sounded alarms about militant Islam recently:

* Televangelist Pat Robertson, explaining his endorsement this week of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said "the overriding issue before the American people is the defense of our population from the bloodlust of Islamic terrorists."

* Perhaps the nation's most influential evangelical leader, James Dobson, has spotlighted the issue a dozen times over the past year on his Focus on the Family radio show. Dobson has warned that both Republicans and Democrats need to "wake up" to the dangers of militant Islam.

* At the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in June, evangelical thinker Charles Colson spoke of a "long war" against Islamofascists.

Concern over foreign policy isn't a new thing for Christian conservatives. When Ronald Reagan first applied the words "evil empire" to the Soviet Union in 1983, his audience was a receptive one ? a meeting of the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Fla.

"It was not by accident," said Bauer, who worked in the Reagan administration. "Reagan knew conservative Christians do tend to look at these big clashes between the West and our opponents in terms of morality and right and wrong."

Tensions between evangelical Christianity and Islam are long-standing, too. Aside from major theological differences, the two traditions work tirelessly to win new believers and often compete. Evangelical missionary groups have long protested restrictions on access to predominantly Muslim nations in Africa and the Middle East.

The September 11 attacks, carried out by Muslims who cited their religion as a motivating factor, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have further inflamed evangelical anxiety.

"These Christian right activists are very concerned with order," said John Green, a senior fellow with the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. "And radical Islam, in the same way that radical Communism was, is a threat that would interfere with families, with good government, and also the church and the spreading of the Gospel."

Not surprisingly, U.S. Muslim leaders are critical of the pitched rhetoric and warn of the consequences if evangelical leaders fail to separate militants from the vast majority of Muslims.

"If you look at the global picture, what these groups are doing is reinforcing the idea that America is in a crusade against Islam, and that this not a war against a group of extremists, but a war between religions," said Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council. "In the long run, it's to the detriment of America's interests and it's pandering to a bloc of voters in a very shortsighted way."

So what kind of solutions do Christian conservative leaders propose for battling what they see as a real threat?

One is staying in Iraq. More than 40 conservative leaders, most of them social conservatives, signed a declaration in September warning against the "catastrophic" consequences of withdrawing from Iraq. The statement said the war "must be seen in the broader context of Islamo-fascism's war on America and Western Civilization."

If voter turnout is a goal, linking radical Islam and Iraq might prove risky. While white evangelicals remain among the strongest supporters of the Iraq War, that support is waning: 56 percent said in October the U.S. was right to use military force against Iraq, down from 67 percent in December 2004, according to the Pew Research Center.

Still, in meetings with Republican presidential candidates, Christian conservatives are most interested in hearing an acknowledgment of the Islamic threat. The GOP hopefuls are obliging.

Giuliani - whose preferred term is "Islamic terrorists" - has denounced Democrats for failing to use the phrase. Christian conservative leaders acknowledge their elevation of the issue has contributed to an ironic twist at the top of the polls: Giuliani, the candidate most associated with the war on terrorism, not only won Robertson's endorsement but is polling well among evangelicals despite his two divorces and support for abortion rights and gay rights.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who is aggressively courting evangelicals, produced a TV ad in Iowa titled "Jihad," in which he says, "It's this century's nightmare, jihadism - violent, radical Islamic fundamentalism."

Those who fall short get singled out. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council accused former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a favorite of many Christian conservatives, for failing to grasp the threat of radical Islam.

Huckabee has since tried to make amends. In a Republican debate in Orlando, the former Southern Baptist minister labeled Islamofascism "the greatest threat this country's ever faced."

Green, of the Pew Forum, said if radical Islam does become a major campaign issue, it will help the GOP nominee because voters tend to view Republicans as stronger on national security. But he isn't sure it will motivate conservative Christian activists.

"If you get off into issues of taxes or foreign policy, their eyes glaze over," Green said. "If politics is going to be about those things, they'd rather be back at their churches saving souls."

Another influential conservative activist, Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation, said it's unclear whether conservative Christian voters understand the threat of radical Islam well enough for it to become a factor in the election.

"We've got a year to make sure they know what's going on," said Weyrich, a Romney supporter. "If they do, probably this will be the motivating issue. If they don't, you can forget it. I think the election goes to Hillary (Clinton).
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  1.   Islamists Have awaken a monster 05:08  |  Nephtaly 11/11/07
  2.   Evangelicals, the anti-Christ... 05:21  |  Maureen Ann 11/11/07
  3.   Forget the Boogeymen! 05:30  |  Dovy 11/11/07
  4.   Maureen Ann, sickening Catholisism 05:34  |  אקדח מסמרים 11/11/07
  5.   Nephtaly 05:39  |  akiva (zionist) 11/11/07
  6.   Please don`t call them conservative... 06:13  |  ManintheMiddle 11/11/07
  7.   #4 Tele-Evangelists = Republican Jihadis... 06:21  |  Maureen Ann 11/11/07
  8.   Muslims are the new Jews 06:25  |  Steve 11/11/07
  9.   Islamophobia 06:33  |  Fahmi Natour 11/11/07
  10.   Maureen Ann 06:34  |  Shekinah 11/11/07
  11.   Evangelicals are fair-weather friends 06:48  |  dan 11/11/07
  12.   #10 Shekinah. 08:15  |  Maureen Ann 11/11/07
  13.   Outlaw Islam in West 08:15  |  J 11/11/07
  14.   MAUREN AN, Where are you my dear?Arafat is waiting for 72 virgins 08:59  |  Jalal Shahid 11/11/07
  15.   Islamofascistphobia, why are Muslim afraid of their own shadow? 09:02  |  Genuine Tosefta 11/11/07
  16.   Smart voters know better 09:04  |  MuslimAmerican 11/11/07
  17.   Steve 09:16  |  Shekinah 11/11/07
  18.   US Religious right are dangerous, deluded, meddling extremists 09:24  |  Ivar 11/11/07
  19.   Evangelicals are the Jews` Best Friends 09:30  |  Daniel Wein 11/11/07
  20.   With friends like these.... 09:31  |  Paulo 11/11/07
  21.   PLEASE KEEP DEMONIZE ISLAM, WE WON`T DEMONIZE CHRISTIAN 09:35  |  indrajaya 11/11/07
  22.   Everyone Calm Down! Things Will Work Out! 09:57  |  Yosemite 11/11/07
  23.   Maureen 10:26  |  Shekinah 11/11/07
  24.   Shameless Republicans Make Bin Laden`s Claims Credible 10:31  |  chet 11/11/07
  25.   Indrajaya 11:20  |  Shekinah 11/11/07
  26.   Maureen Ann 11:29  |  Shekinah 11/11/07
  27.   To Daniel Wein 11:36  |  TrueChristian 11/11/07
  28.   #13 11:42  |  j10 11/11/07
  29.   Fahmi 11:47  |  Shekinah 11/11/07
  30.   Islamofascism=Islamophobia extended 11:56  |  Roci Stone 11/11/07
  31.   To TrueChristian 12:13  |  Daniel Wein 11/11/07
  32.   Pretty darn straight-forward to me. 12:23  |  FOX 11/11/07
  33.   Daniel W., read my true Christian post, #18 12:28  |  Ivar 11/11/07
  34.   Islamofacism = The acceptable face of racism 12:41  |  Mr. T 11/11/07
  35.   No wonder Islam is the fastest growing..... 12:56  |  Theodor 11/11/07
  36.   Theodor 13:13  |  MER 11/11/07
  37.   # 35, THEODOR 13:19  |  indrajaya 11/11/07
  38.   To Daniel Wein 13:26  |  TrueChristian 11/11/07
  39.   Mr. T, Islamic madness does not justify carte blanche for Israel 13:29  |  Ivar 11/11/07
  40.   Kristallnacht 13:30  |  micah leshem 11/11/07
  41.   # 22 Yosemite, I agree, we three will be united. However, 13:31  |  Virginia 11/11/07
  42.   To FOX 13:33  |  Checker 11/11/07
  43.   U.S. evangelicals are for sale and always have been 13:34  |  Natallie Durson 11/11/07
  44.   # 25, SHEKINAH (2nd TRY, EDITED) 13:36  |  indrajaya 11/11/07
  45.   True Christian, there is only ONE Bible, not old and new 13:37  |  Ivar 11/11/07
  46.   Re # 31 Daniel Wein 13:46  |  Mohammed 11/11/07
  47.   WINSTON Churchill"No stronger retrograde force exists in the worl 13:51  |  PETER SM 11/11/07
  48.   Then we`ll give this world the "Care Bear Stare"!!! And show them 14:03  |  Virginia 11/11/07
  49.   Mohammed the Sage 14:04  |  Daniel Wein 11/11/07
  50.   Muslim American 14:07  |  Tess 11/11/07
  51.   # 44 interesting...What could be more "respectable" than 14:14  |  Virginia 11/11/07
  52.   Indrajaya 14:15  |  Shekinah 11/11/07
  53.   Extreme Christianity will not beat extreme Islam. 14:18  |  Michael 11/11/07
  54.   Re # 49 Daniel Wein 14:22  |  Mohammed 11/11/07
  55.   Islam is the most evil doctrine ever created 15:11  |  Johnny 11/11/07
  56.   Christiofascist warn of . . . 15:34  |  Mark Lincoln 11/11/07
  57.   Don`t Blame Evangelicals 15:42  |  Daybreak 11/11/07
  58.   "MER" your rantings are void, what you want is proven wrong 15:49  |  Johnny 11/11/07
  59.   Don`t Blame Evangelicals Part 2 15:52  |  Daybreak 11/11/07
  60.   #41 Virginia 16:02  |  Yosemite 11/11/07
  61.   Checker #42 attempting to apologize 16:53  |  FOX 11/11/07
  62.   #16 confusion all around the fastest growing addiction in the wor 17:02  |  victor hardman 11/11/07
  63.   # 32 FOX. And pretty darn straight forward to me too - humbug! 17:12  |  Nick Ferriman 11/11/07
  64.   what a pair 17:18  |  edgar 11/11/07
  65.   Roci Stone 17:23  |  Lynn 11/11/07
  66.   Steve in Minneapolis 17:31  |  rich 11/11/07
  67.   Michael in UK 17:34  |  rich 11/11/07
  68.   #63 Nick Ferriman 17:42  |  Daybreak 11/11/07