Obama at U.N.: Muslims must 'reject the ideology of al Qaeda and ISIS'
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President Obama on Wednesday called on the international community to join together in defeating religious extremism through force and vocal condemnation.
In his speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Obama warned of the "cancer of violent extremism that has ravaged so many parts of the Muslim world." And he suggested a four-part plan to combat extremism by destroying existing terrorist groups with military force while encouraging future generations to reject extremist teachings.
"It is time for the world — especially Muslim communities — to explicitly, forcefully, and consistently reject the ideology of al Qaeda and ISIL," he said, using another acronym for ISIS, the Sunni militant group that has claimed parts of Iraq and Syria.
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"The ideology of ISIL or al Qaeda or Boko Haram will wilt and die if it is consistently exposed, confronted, and refuted in the light of day," he added.
Speaking about ISIS in particular, he warned that there could "be no reasoning — no negotiation — with this brand of evil," because "the only language understood by killers like this is the language of force." And he called on the world to join the U.S. and its fledgling coalition of some 40 partners that are directly engaging with ISIS.
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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
