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For Immediate Release\
Office of the Press Secretary\
June 27, 2007

**Fact Sheet: Strengthening Our Friendship with the Muslim Community
Worldwide**\
*President Bush Announces He Will Appoint A Special Envoy To The
Organization Of The Islamic Conference*

**Today, President Bush Participated In The Rededication Of The Islamic
Center Of Washington, In Washington, D.C.**

President Dwight D. Eisenhower attended the Dedication Ceremony of the
Islamic Center of Washington on June 28, 1957, to demonstrate America\'s
respect for the Islamic faith. To underscore this respect for Muslims
everywhere, President Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington six
days after the 9/11 attacks to denounce any prejudice against
Muslim-Americans.

**The President Announced He Will Appoint A Special Envoy To The
Organization Of The Islamic Conference (OIC).** The OIC is an
inter-governmental organization that strengthens political, economic,
social, cultural, and scientific cooperation among its 57 member states.

-   **The President\'s Announcement Reaffirms The United States
    Government\'s Outreach To Muslim Communities Based On Mutual Respect
    And Understanding.** This is the first time in history that a
    president has made such an appointment to the OIC.

-   **The Special Envoy Will Represent America\'s Views And Values And
    Work To Demonstrate To The Wider Islamic World Our Interest In
    Respectful Dialogue And Continued Friendship.** The Envoy will
    maintain formal contact with the OIC Secretariat, the Secretary
    General, the chairing country, plus other member countries, to
    follow OIC affairs and activities, understand the views of OIC
    members and leaders, seek ways for the U.S. and the OIC to
    cooperate, and seek to promote U.S. views on important policy
    matters that may come before the OIC.

**Today, We Have An Opportunity To Help The Forces Of Moderation Win The
Great Struggle Against Extremism.** In the Middle East, we have seen the
rise of a group of extremists who seek to use religion as a path to
power and a means of domination.

-   **Extremists Falsely Claim That America Is At War With The Muslim
    People And The Muslim Faith, When In Fact It Is These Radicals Who
    Are Islam\'s True Enemy.** They have staged spectacular attacks on
    Muslim holy sites to divide Muslims and make them fight one another,
    and they have killed more Muslims than they have killed people of
    any other faith.

-   **The President Has Committed His Administration To Helping People
    Fight Off Terrorism And Find Their Own Paths To Prosperity And
    Peace.** The efforts underway in Afghanistan and Iraq are central to
    this struggle, but the struggle will not end there. The stirrings of
    a democratic future have already been seen in other parts of the
    Middle East, though they may take time to be realized.

-   **Men And Women Of Conscience Have A Duty To Speak Out And Condemn
    The Murderous Movement Of Extremists - And In This Effort, Moderate
    Muslim Leaders Have The Most Powerful And Influential Voice.**
    America admires and thanks those Muslims who have denounced what the
    OIC Secretary General called \"radical fringe elements who pretend
    that they act in the name of Islam,\" and we must encourage more
    Muslim leaders to add their voices.

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