Jenna Bush Hager shares father’s ‘Islam is Peace’ speech

by Rebecca Savransky - 01/31/17 12:42 PM ET

Jenna Bush Hager on Tuesday shared an excerpt from her father’s “Islam is Peace” speech, which former President George W. Bush delivered following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“‘This is not the America I know…’ just a reminder this am to teach acceptance and love to our kids for all races, all religions..” Bush Hager wrote in a tweet sharing her father’s speech.

“This is not the America I know…” just a reminder this am to teach acceptance and love to our kids for all races, all religions.. pic.twitter.com/32XohAGMv7

— Jenna Bush Hager (@JennaBushHager) January 31, 2017

George W. Bush delivered the speech on Sept. 17, 2001 at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C.

{mosads}In the excerpt shared Tuesday, Bush says that the “face of terror is not the true faith of Islam.”

“That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace,” Bush said in the speech. “These terrorists don’t represent peace. They represent evil and war.”

The former president argued that Muslims make “an incredible valuable contribution to our country” and said they must be “treated with respect.”

“In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect,” he said.

Bush Hager’s tweet comes after President Trump last week signed a sweeping executive order barring refugees and people from seven predominately Muslim countries from entering the U.S.

The order bars Syrian refugees indefinitely, suspends the resettlement of all refugees for four months as the administration reviews the vetting process and denies entry for 90 days to individuals from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.

The order has been met with backlash from many lawmakers and has spurred protests across the country, with Americans urging the administration to welcome refugees and immigrants.

“Women who cover their heads in this country must feel comfortable going outside their homes. Moms who wear cover must be not intimidated in America. That’s not the America I know. That’s not the America I value,” Bush said in his 2001 speech.

People who feel like they can “intimidate our fellow citizens” represent the “worst of humankind” and should be “ashamed,” he said.

Tags George W. Bush Jenna Bush Hager