Franklin Graham: US, UK Need to Wake Up to Threat of Islam 'Before It's Too Late'
Prominent evangelist Franklin Graham has warned that given the increasing terror attacks on civilians in the United Kingdom, both the British and United States governments need to "wake up" to the reality of Islamic terrorism before "it's too late."
After terrorists killed seven and injured 48 others in two attacks claimed by the Islamic State in London Saturday night, Graham, the son of legendary evangelist Billy Graham and president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, took to his Facebook page to issue his thoughts, as he has often done following terror attacks.
"Since 9/11, I have been warning America about the dangers of the teachings of Islam," Graham wrote on his Facebook page Sunday. "Followers of Islam are taught very troubling passages that encourage them to murder and maim those they refer to infidels, or nonbelievers. With the internet and social media, radicalization is only increasing — and the dangers are continuing to increase."
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"Many times, sadly, it is the young who are pulled into these teachings that encourage murder and rape in the name of the god of Islam," Graham continued. "We saw the results again Saturday night in London with 7 killed and more than 48 wounded by Muslim men who said this was for Allah. That is three Islamic terror attacks in [the U.K.] in less than three months."
Saturday's attacks on London mark the third terror attack in the United Kingdom in the past 75 days.
On May 22, 22 civilians were killed and 119 injured by a suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group outside of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. In March, six people were killed and 49 injured in a terrorist attack that occurred in the vicinity of Palace of Westminster in London. The Islamic State claims to have inspired the Westminster terrorist, Khalid Masood.
"The threat of Islam is real. The threat of Islam is serious. The threat of Islam is dangerous," Graham asserted. "There is cause for concern, despite what some may say. We need to pray that God would give our President, our Congress, and our Senate wisdom — and the guts to do what is right for our nation, and not what's politically correct. My prayer is that the United States — and the UK — will wake up before it's too late."
British Prime Minister Theresa May declared following the London attack that there is "far too much tolerance of extremism in our country."
"It is time to say enough is enough," she said. "Everybody needs to go about their lives as they normally would. Our society should continue to function in accordance with our values. But when it comes to taking on extremism and terrorism, things need to change."
Just one week before the one-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub terror attack in Orlando, Florida, in which 49 clubgoers were killed and 53 others injured, another mass shooting took place Monday at a business complex in Orlando on Monday. Five fatalities, including the shooter have been reported.
As of press time, there doesn't seem to be a connection with Islamic terrorism and it appears to have been carried out by a disgruntled employee, local news outlets have reported.
