President Trump during a major speech in Saudi Arabia on Sunday is expected to characterize the fight against “Islamist extremism” as a battle against “barbaric criminals” instead of one between different faiths.
“This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilizations,” Trump is expected to say in Riyadh, according to excerpts released by the White House.
“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.”
The excerpts provided by the White House do not include the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism,” which Trump made a point of using frequently on the campaign trail to describe Islamist extremist and terrorist groups. Former presidents including Barack Obama and George W. Bush have avoided using that term.
Instead, Trump on Sunday is expected to call on the Islamic world to confront 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,” he is expected to say.
“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.”
Trump is expected to say that his administration’s goal is a “coalition of nations who share the aim of stamping out extremism and providing our children a hopeful future that does honor to God.
“We are adopting a principled realism, rooted in common values and shared interests,” he will say, according to the excerpts. “Our friends will never question our support, and our enemies will never doubt our determination.”
Trump is also expected to say that he will make decisions “based on real-world outcomes” instead of “inflexible ideology.”
“We will be guided by the lessons of experience, not the confines of rigid thinking. And, wherever possible, we will seek gradual reforms — not sudden intervention.”