United States President Donald Trump offered a message of unity on Sunday as he called on the Arab world to confront extremism during a highly anticipated speech in the birthplace of Islam.
Speaking in Riyadh, Trump suddenly switched to a supportive tone in his call to combat violent extremism.
“This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilisations,” Trump said in his highly-anticipated address at the Arabic Islamic American Summit.
Here are the highlights of his speech:
>> We are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship. Instead, we are here to offer partnership.
>> The nations of the Middle East will have to decide what kind of future they want for themselves, for their countries and frankly for their families and for their children.
It’s a choice between two futures and it’s a choice America cannot make for you. A better future is only possible if your nations drive out the terrorists and drive out the extremists.
Drive them out! Drive them out of your places of worship. Drive them out of your communities. Drive them out of your holy land and drive them out of this earth.
>> Every time a terrorist murders an innocent person, and falsely invokes the name of God, it should be an insult to every person of faith.
>> This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilisations. This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it. This is a battle between good and evil.
>> That means honestly confronting the crisis of Islamist extremism and the Islamist terror groups it inspires. And it means standing together against the murder of innocent Muslims, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews, and the slaughter of Christians.
>> Religious leaders must make this absolutely clear: Barbarism will deliver you no glory -- piety to evil will bring you no dignity. If you choose the path of terror, your life will be empty, your life will be brief, and your soul will be condemned.
