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You have called Islam "wicked" and "violent" and not "this wonderful, peaceful religion." To what degree have your views on Islam been shaped by your experience in Sudan?

It's not just Sudan. I have also been to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan. I've been around the Muslim world for a long time. Out of all of these Islamic countries, there's not one democracy. There are no personal liberties. There are no freedoms, religious freedom or any other freedom. I see how they treat people of other faiths. It frightens me.

After 9/11, there were groups that said we all worship the same God. It's not the same God. The God of Islam is not a father. The God of the Christian faith is a father. He has a son: his name is Jesus.

Copyright © 2002 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also appearing on our site today:

Graham's Current EventsIn his fifth book, Franklin Graham examines why the name of Jesus is controversial.

The Name is available at Christianbook.com.

For more information on Graham's work, see the sites of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse

Previous Christianity Today articles about Franklin Graham include:

Give Franklin Graham Some Slack—and Some CreditThe evangelist shouldn't be defined by his opposition to Islam. (August 23, 2002)

NOT Your Father's EvangelistFranklin Graham has been groomed to wear his father's mantle. How does it fit? (April 5, 1999)

Following George Bush's inauguration, Christianity Today'sWeblog looked at the controversy surrounding the prayers led by Kirbyjon Caldwell and Franklin Graham. A 2001 profile of Caldwell looked at the reaction to his prayer at the ceremony.

In 2001 The New York Times accused Samaritan's Purse of using government funds for religious work. The organization responded with a press release and Graham wrote an editorial for The News & Observer. In a Christianity Today editorial, the magazine said the paper should have run a correction—instead it may have changed government policy.

A sidebar to June's cover story on Habitat for Humanity examined how Christian organizations, like Samaritan's Purse, keep their focus on Christ while working in the secular world.

Christianity Today has covered the BGEA change from using the word crusade in articles including "Billy's Last 'Crusade'?" and "Billy Graham's Last Crusade—Really."

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November 18 2002, Vol. 46, No. 12