American Muslims “concerned” with Bush’s use of the term “Islamic fascists”

Seems the President’s characterization of Islamic terrorists as “Islamic fascists” has riled up US Muslims who are “concerned” that such a term could inflame sentiment against Islamists. Via Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Muslim groups criticized President George W. Bush on Thursday for calling a foiled plot to blow up airplanes part of a “war with Islamic fascists,” saying the term could inflame anti-Muslim tensions.

U.S. officials have said the plot, thwarted by Britain, to blow up several aircraft over the Atlantic bore many of the hallmarks of al Qaeda.

“We believe this is an ill-advised term and we believe that it is counter-productive to associate Islam or Muslims with fascism,” said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations advocacy group.

We ought to take advantage of these incidents to make sure that we do not start a religious war against Islam and Muslims,” he told a news conference in Washington.

“We urge him (Bush) and we urge other public officials to restrain themselves.”

ROTFL! If that isn’t the height of chutzpah I don’t know what is! The Brits just foiled a terrorist plot that could have caused massive loss of life, perhaps even made 9-11 pale in comparison, and these clowns want to urge Bush and other public officials trying to combat such plots to restrain themselves?

GMADB! Here are the comments Bush made that ruffled the delicate feathers of the sensitivity police:

Hours after the news [of the foiled terrorist attacks] broke, Bush said it was “a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation.”

Video here.

Mind you, the President has also said we’re at war with “radical Islam” “extremist Islamists” and the like, but now that he uses the term “fascist” alongside the word “Islamic” he’s crossed the line and “needs to be restrained”?

If the President read this blog I’d offer this advice: Tell the whiners at CAIR that you don’t “CAIR” anymore what they think of the terms you use to describe Islamofascists. And certainly do not apologize. Tell them that they need to get a hold on their Muslim brothers and restrain them from planning and committing terrorist attacks- like 9-11, 3-11, 7/7, the hundreds of thousands of other terrorists attacks committed by Islamofascists around the world, etc, because that’s what stirs up anti-Muslim sentiment, not the apt term “Islamofascists.”

Sheesh …

More: Gateway Pundit points out some, shall we say ‘interesting’ facts about the Texas-based “Muslim activist” quoted later in that Reuters piece.

Update I: La Shawn and Atlas liked that Bush used the term, too.

Update II: OUCH.

Update III: K-Lo has a spot-on response to CAIR’s objections:

If a mainstream Muslim group can’t see or make the distinction between RADICAL/MILITANT/FASCISM Islam and thinks any of those terms are interchangable with Islam, we are in pretty bad shape, indeed.