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Bush says he unwittingly 'stirs up Muslim anxiety'
US President George W Bush said in an interview with a German newspaper on Monday that he unwittingly caused fears in the Muslim world.
US President George W Bush said in an interview with a German newspaper on Monday that he unwittingly caused fears in the Muslim world.
"We must understand words mean things to different people," Bush said in Bild, according to an English transcript released by the White House.
"Sometimes my own messages send signals that I don't mean to send, but stirs up anxieties in the Muslim world."
"There needs to be more understanding between the Muslim world and the Western world. There needs to be a better understanding of the true beliefs of their respective religions."
Bush said however that he was convinced that most people in the world shared common, peaceful values.
"I take great comfort in knowing that the true Muslim -- Islam, itself, is a peaceful religion, and those who adhere to Islam are people that respect the rights of others.
"And there's common values in the great religions. And what we cannot allow to happen is for these totalitarians, these Islamic extremists to distort a great religion and define the nature of that religion."
