Welcomes the Dalai Lama and major faith leaders at National Prayer Breakfast
President Obama condemned terrorists seeking to use religion as a rationale for carrying out violence around the world, declaring that “no god condones terror.”
“We are summoned to push back against those who would distort our religion for their nihilistic ends,” said Obama during remarks at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday, Feb. 5.
Calling on people of all faiths to show humility about their beliefs and respect for others, Obama promoted a message of peace among different religions.
He also singled out the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq and Syria, calling the militants a “brutal, vicious death cult,” and cited those responsible for the recent deadly terror attacks in Paris and the massacre on a school in Pakistan.
In his non-denominational message to the audience of thousands, which included prominent leaders of non-Christian faiths, Obama said that religion is a source for good and inspiration worldwide, but people of all faiths have been “willing to hijack religion for their own murderous ends.”
“As people of faith, we are summoned to push back against those who’ve tried to distort our religion—any religion—for their own nihilistic ends,” Obama remarked.
“Unless we get on our high horse and think that this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ,” he said. “In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ. So it is not unique to one group or one religion—there is a tendency in us, a simple tendency that can pervert and distort our faith.”
Obama also offered a special bowing welcome to a “good friend,” the Dalai Lama, seated quietly at a table in front of the podium. It was the first time the president and the Dalai Lama attended the same public event, due to the sensitivity of his situation in China.
“[The Dalai Lama] is a powerful example of what it means to practice compassion,” Obama said of the Tibetan Buddhist leader. “He inspires us to speak up for the freedom and dignity of all human beings.”
The keynote address was delivered by NASCAR champion and retired driver Darrell Waltrip, who talked about his journey of faith and his acceptance of Christ after surviving a crash on the race track.
“There aren’t that many occasions that bring his Holiness (the Dalai Lama) under the same roof as NASCAR,” Obama joked. “This may be the first … but God works in mysterious ways.”
Obama said he is also looking forward to welcoming Pope Francis to the US in September this year for a conference.
(With reports from AP, USA Today)
