Announces Creation of Terrorist Financing Targeting Center
In a widely anticipated speech, President Trump called on Muslim leaders to do more to fight Islamist extremism. He was speaking at the Arabic Islamic American Summit in Saudi Arabia to leaders of 55 Muslim-majority countries.
“The nations of the Middle East cannot wait for American power to crush this enemy for them,” he said. “The nations of the Middle East will have to decide what kind of future they want for themselves, for their countries and, frankly, for their families and for their children.”
Trump said it would be up to Muslims themselves to rid their societies of the “foot soldiers of evil,” as he put it. “Drive them out,” he said. “Drive them out of your places of worship. Drive them out of your communities. Drive them out of your holy land. And drive them out of this earth.”
The President, who during the campaign called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” stressed that the fight against ISIS is a battle between good and evil.
“If we do not confront this deadly terror, we know what the future will bring: more suffering, more death and more despair,” he said. “But if we act, if we leave this magnificent room unified and determined to do what it takes to destroy the terror that threatens this world, then there is no limit to the great future our citizens will have.
King Salman, who spoke before Trump, used his speech to attack Iran, Saudi Arabia’s main rival in the Middle East. “Iran has turned down all good neighborliness,” he declared, adding that Iran has been “at the spearhead of terrorism” in the world ever since the Islamic revolution of 1979. He said that Iran is the main source of instability and violence in the region, and thanked Trump for his commitment to fight terrorism.
Trump has emphasized the religious aspects of his trip, which includes visits to Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Vatican. He barely touched on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying only that “If these three faiths can join, peace in this world is possible, including peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” he said.
The speech came as the president came at the end of his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, his first foreign trip since becoming President. During his campaign, Trump was known for bouts of anti-Islamic rhetoric including repeated uses of the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism,” a phrase that was glaringly absent from this speech.
Trump’s speech came a day before he lands in Israel, where his trip has dominated the news for days. Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ordered all members of his cabinet to appear at the welcoming ceremony for President Trump, after three of his cabinet ministers, in a fit of pique, said they would stay away. Army Radio reported that they were annoyed that they would not be included in the receiving line in the airport and so would not even get to shake the President’s hand.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel was welcoming US President Donald Trump “with open arms,” adding that he will “discuss ways to advance peace” with the US leader during his Israel visit on Monday-Tuesday. There were reports that Israeli had stepped up its welcome ceremony after the lavish welcome Trump received in Saudi Arabia.
President Trump flies to Israel tomorrow, and will give a speech at the Israel Museum that is expected to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.