Trump To Call On Muslim World To Confront ‘Islamist Extremism’ In Saudi Speech
US President Donald Trump is expected to underline the need to confront extremism in Islam when he makes a speech in Saudi Arabia later on Sunday.
A leaked version of his speech says the fight against extremism “is not a battle between different faiths” but “a battle between good and evil”.
Mr Trump, who is on his first official trip abroad, will deliver the speech at a summit of regional leaders.
His harsh campaign rhetoric on Muslims stirred concern in the Islamic world.
The excerpts suggest a softer tone with Mr Trump attempting to bolster support for the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants.
US President Donald Trump is expected to underline the need to confront extremism in Islam when he makes a speech in Saudi Arabia later on Sunday.
A leaked version of his speech says the fight against extremism “is not a battle between different faiths” but “a battle between good and evil”.
Mr Trump, who is on his first official trip abroad, will deliver the speech at a summit of regional leaders.
His harsh campaign rhetoric on Muslims stirred concern in the Islamic world.
The excerpts suggest a softer tone with Mr Trump attempting to bolster support for the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants.
He is also expected to call on Middle Eastern countries do more themselves to stamp out extremism, and not count on the US to counter the likes of IS.
“The nations of the Middle East will have to decide what kind of future they want for themselves, for their countries, and for their children,” he will say.
The leaked texts do not include the controversial phrase “radical Islamic terrorism”. In the past, he has criticised his predecessor, Barack Obama, and others for not employing these terms, considered offensive by many Muslims.
Significance and sensitivity: By Frank Gardner, BBC Security Correspondent, Riyadh
President Trump’s keynote speech to more than 40 leaders of Muslim nations takes him into risky territory. White House briefers say it will be uplifting, inspirational and unifying, but also blunt. He is expected to tell governments they need to do more to stamp out religious intolerance and extremism.
This could go one of two ways. If he sticks to the script and presents his administration as being supportive and collegiate, avoiding the sort of inflammatory language he has used in the past, it should pass without incident.
But if he uses terms like “radical Islamic terrorism”, which he has in the past, or adopts a hectoring, authoritarian tone, then that is likely to cause considerable offence.
There is huge significance and sensitivity in the location here. Saudi Arabia is both the birthplace of Islam and home to the two most sacred pilgrimage sites for the millions who make the journey every year. Donald Trump’s speech is likely to be watched with a critical eye.
Trump and Muslims: What has he said?
Mr Trump frequently attacked Muslims in the campaign, including suggesting he would be open to creating a database of all the Muslims in the US, linking the religion with violence.
And in an interview last year, he famously said: “I think Islam hates us.”
He also called for Muslims to be temporarily banned from entering the US over security concerns. Legislation aimed at restricting travel from several Muslim-majority countries remains tied up in the US courts.
Cutting off the money
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states represented at the conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh are involved in the fight against IS, but have been accused of backing the group and other Sunni militants – most notably in a 2014 email by Hillary Clinton released by Wikileaks.
They are now expected to sign a deal with the US to co-ordinate their efforts aimed at cutting off sources of money for those groups. Those countries include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
“The unique piece of it is that every single one of them are signatories on how they’re responsible and will actually prosecute the financing of terrorism, including individuals,” said Dina Powell, US Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategy.
In a separate development, on Saturday, the US signed trade deals of $350bn (£270bn) with Saudi Arabia.
This included the largest arms deal ever made in US history, according to the White House. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said it was aimed at countering the “malign” influence of Iran, Saudi Arabia’s regional rival.
The agenda for the rest of Mr Trump’s trip
Mr Trump’s eight-day trip will also take in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Brussels, the Vatican, and Sicily.
The president’s visit has been overshadowed by his political difficulties at home, namely the fallout over his sacking of FBI chief James Comey.
- Monday-Tuesday, 22-23 May: Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, before visiting the West Bank on Tuesday
- Wednesday 24 May: Rome and Brussels. Mr Trump will meet Pope Francis, then Belgian officials
- Thursday, 25 May: A Nato summit in Brussels
- Friday, 26 May: Sicily, for a meeting of G7 members
