By Samuel Short September 11, 2026 at 7:15am
On the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, former President George W. Bush took the chance to reflect on his actions in the time that followed that day.
He was spectacularly wrong about Islam then, and he is now.
Bush sat down Thursday with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas. While the full interview can be viewed on YouTube, one particular moment stuck out for a comment made by Bush about Islam, perpetuating the lie that this religion is peaceful.
It was posted to social media platform X by conservative media outlet The Blaze.
George Bush reflects on the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks: “I made it clear that Islam was a religion of peace.” pic.twitter.com/YDOltLvl2X
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) September 10, 2026
Rice asked Bush to speak about what happened following that day, to which he responded boldly, but incorrectly, declaring how he set the tone for the country.
Do you believe Islam is a religion of peace?
“I also made it clear that Islam was a religion of peace, not a religion of war, and that these people subverted their religion.”
This is wrong in every conceivable fashion. You must be a liar or woefully, profoundly naive to actually believe that Islam is a religion of peace.
Before delving further, note that this is something Bush did say following Sept. 11, 2001.
“Islam is peace,” he told a room of reporters. “When we think of Islam, we think of a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world.”
“Islam is peace… it has brought peace to the world” – George Bush, 6 days after 9/11
They were still digging bodies pic.twitter.com/ES3WenNHW5
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 8, 2026
Peace and comfort are certainly peculiar ways to describe ravaging the planet with bloody conquests full of rape, slavery, murder, and subjugation.
The death of Muhammad was followed by his successors indulging in an orgy of terror, invading the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain.
They destroyed countless thousands of Christian churches, slaughtered innumerable innocents, and used non-Muslim women — and children — for their depraved sexual desires.
It is almost unfathomable to the modern mind how much suffering Islam has brought to the planet.
Recall terrorist attacks by ISIS, Boko Haram, Hamas, and al-Qaeda, the latter of which the former president set out to destroy. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Center for the Study of Political Islam International reports that 49,970 Islamic terrorist attacks have been carried out.
These are not “outliers” or “radicals.” These people are following the teachings of the Quran and Muhammad.
Quran 2:244 says, “Then fight in the cause of Allah, and know that Allah Heareth and knoweth all things.” Quran 8:12 reads, “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.”
In Quran 9:14, Muslims are told, “Fight against them so that Allah will punish them by your hands and disgrace them and give you victory over them and heal the breasts of a believing people.”
These are just three verses among numerous others with the same message. The history, the modern day, and the theology all say Bush is flatly wrong.
His comments set the tone in this country. Pew Research says the number of mosques more than doubled in the United States between 2000 and 2020. The Muslim population has more than doubled between 2007 and 2026.
Had the former president been forthcoming with the threat Islam poses after Sept. 11, 2001, we could have stopped this. Instead, the gates are wide open.
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Sam Short is an Assistant Professor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London. The views expressed in his articles are his own and do not reflect the views or opinions of Motlow State Community College.
