Obama: Muslims must fight 'twisted interpretations of Islam'
US President Barack Obama called on the world Thursday to confront efforts to use Islam to justify violence, saying Muslim communities in particular have a responsibility to push back on "twisted interpretations of Islam."
Obama has sought to use a White House summit this week on violent extremism to urge the world to broaden its response far beyond military interventions. During the summit's closing session at the State Department, Obama urged delegates from 65 countries to "confront the warped ideology" espoused by terror groups.
"These terrorists are desperate for legitimacy and all us have a responsibility to refute the notion that groups like ISIL somehow represent Islam, because that is a falsehood that embraces the terrorist narrative," Obama said, using an acronym to refer to the Islamic State. He also called on Muslim communities to counter the notion that the West is at war with Islam.
