Obama: is US ‘at war’ with Islamic extremism?

In his most direct remarks yet about any link between Islam and terrorism, President Obama said that “we will ultimately prevail” against extremist threats.

At an international conference on combating violent extremism, the US president said the propaganda put out by the groups, including on social media, had to be challenged by clerics and leaders representing the overwhelming majority of Muslims.

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Mr Obama said more needed to be done to tackle the notion that Islam and the West were engaged in a “clash of civilisations”. He said in a statement: “Giving the complexities of the challenge and the nature of the enemy, which is not a traditional army, this work takes time, and will require vigilance and resilience and perspective.

We are not at war with Islam. We are at war with people who have perverted Islam. Barack Obama

“They do depend upon the misperception around the world that they speak in some fashion for people of the Muslim faith, that Islam is somehow inherently violent, that there is some sort of clash of civilisations. Of course, the terrorists do not speak for over a billion Muslims who reject their hateful ideology.

“They no more represent Islam than any madman who kills innocents in the name of God represents Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism or Hinduism. No religion is responsible for terrorism. People are responsible for violence and terrorism.” Mr Obama called on Muslim communities to “reject” the narrative of extremist groups, who he said were causing conflict between the west and Islam.

The White House has been criticised in the US press for refusing to use the term “Islamic extremism” in the run-up to the summit and Mr Obama said he did not want to give terrorist groups like IS – also known as Isil – religious legitimacy, insisting “we are not at war with Islam, we are at war with people who have perverted Islam”.

‘Global problem’

Home Secretary Theresa May, who is also attending the summit, said recent “shocking” attacks in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Nigeria, Pakistan and Somalia underscored the fact that extremism in a “global problem”.

She added: “This summit provides a good opportunity to discuss with international partners the shared challenges we face and learn from the experiences of individual countries.

“Terrorists and extremists use a range of methods, including social media, to promote their twisted ideology and we need to be equally able to counter and defeat their warped narrative. “

The conference is expected to produce an action plan leading up to a second meeting ahead of the opening of the UN General Assembly in September.