On the first week after 9/11, President George W. Bush stood in a Washington, D.C., mosque and said, “Islam is peace,” drawing a firm line between America’s enemies and America’s Muslim neighbors.
Story Snapshot
- Bush said terrorists “do not represent Islam,” calling the faith a religion of peace.
- He warned that attacks on innocents violate Islamic teachings and American values.
- He repeated the message days later with Muslim leaders at the White House.
- Federal hate-crime data show a backlash spike after 9/11, underscoring the stakes.
What Bush Said At The Islamic Center
On September 17, 2001, President George W. Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. He told the country that “the face of terror is not the true faith of Islam,” and added, “Islam is peace.” He said the attackers “represent evil and war,” not the religion followed by millions of Americans. He stressed that violence against innocents violates core Islamic tenets and urged the public to understand that difference and act with restraint.
Those remarks were part of a national address from a house of worship, not a rally or briefing. Bush’s choice of venue signaled inclusion during a week of fear and grief. He aimed to stop collective blame and prevent people from lashing out at Muslim neighbors. The message drew a bright moral boundary: America would fight the terrorists, but it would also defend religious freedom at home as a matter of principle and law.
Reinforcing The Distinction In The Days After
On September 26, 2001, Bush met with Muslim leaders at the White House. He said the United States was at war with evil and extremists, not with Islam. He described the teachings of Islam as “peace and good,” and said the al Qaeda network was built on hate and violence. The follow-up repeated the same line as the mosque visit, showing a coordinated message across public events that week.
The White House later folded those themes into official guidance. A frequently asked questions page on the war on terror said Islam promotes “peace, understanding and justice,” and quoted the mosque line that “Islam is peace.” A collection of presidential quotes also framed terrorists as “traitors to their own faith” trying to hijack Islam. These materials show the administration carried the distinction forward, not just for a day but as ongoing policy talk.
Why The Message Mattered For Americans At Home
Federal data show anti-Muslim hate-crime incidents jumped from 28 in 2000 to 481 in 2001. That is a seventeen-fold increase during the year of the attacks. Civil-rights reports also counted thousands of backlash incidents across harassment, discrimination, and violence. The spike gives context to the mosque remarks: leaders worried about safety and unity while the country mourned and prepared for war. The numbers underline why clear words could help cool a dangerous moment.
Years later, Bush described concern about harassment of Muslim women and said he wanted Muslim Americans to know they were not to blame. That later reflection matches the public record from 2001: the administration’s statements separated a global terror group from a global faith, and called on citizens to hold that line. The aim was both moral and practical: defend the innocent at home while focusing national power on those who carried out the attacks.
How This Fits Today’s Fears About Institutions
Many Americans now worry that leaders serve elites and ignore daily struggles. The 2001 mosque visit offers a rare case where a president used the office to slow a rush to blame, not inflame it. The message did not solve later debates over security, immigration, or war. But it affirmed two bedrock promises: equal protection under law and freedom to worship. Those standards are not left or right. They are the guardrails that keep fear from ruling us.
Sources:
redstate.com, georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov, press.uchicago.edu, pewresearch.org
