American Muslims play "critical role" in subverting twisted ideologies - Carter

WASHINGTON, July 1 (KUNA) -- US Defence Secretary Ash Carter told attendees of the Pentagonآ’s annual Iftar dinner that Muslim American soldiers and civilians "play a critical role" alongside their colleagues of every faith and background.
"This is particularly important as we work to counter the insidious influence of organizations that seek to subvert the meaning of Islam to inspire violence and destruction," he said according to a Pentagon statement released on Friday.
Paying homage to American Muslim service members during Ramadan, he described them as "the most powerful argument against the twisted ideology" of terrorist groups that "seek to hijack faith in order to promote their brand of evil." He also condemned the attack in Istanbul, Turkey, earlier this week as "an attack on us all," and vowed that "the people of the United States stand with the extraordinary people of Turkey at this difficult time." (end) sd.bs