Critical anti-Islam comments by prominent religious conservatives have drawn public condemnation from a leading evangelical Christian group. Rev. Franklin Graham, Rev. Jerry Vines of the Southern Baptist Convention, Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson had spoken out, calling Islam among other things " ... a very evil and wicked religion ..." and their Prophet Muhammad " ... a demon-possessed pedophile ..."
At a May 7 meeting of the National Association of Evangelicals held in Washington, D. C., about 50 representatives of evangelical churches, schools, and mission groups publicly criticized such attacks and promised to heal friction with Muslims which threatens their work overseas. The Association represents 43,000 congregations.
A number of meeting participants expressed opinions that such fault-finding jeopardized Christians working in Muslim countries, strained " ... already tense interfaith relations ..." and " ... fed perceptions in the Middle East that our war on terrorism is a Christian crusade against Islam."
A spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations has said, "We can understand theological differences, but what’s important is that the dialogue is one of respect, not demonization."