House Speaker Paul Ryan won praise from the Rev. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse, for demanding the public release of full transcripts of the Orlando shooter's 911 calls, instead of the redacted version initially put out by the U.S. Justice Department.
"Congrats to Speaker Paul Ryan," Graham, the son of televangelist pioneer Billy Graham said in commending the Wisconsin Republican for his efforts in a post on his official Facebook page Monday.
The Justice Department had removed the statements by the shooter, Omar Mateen, to avoid providing the Islamic State with any propaganda value from his claims of acting out of loyalty to the terrorist group, according to Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
"What we're not going to do is further proclaim this man's pledges of allegiance to terrorist groups, and further his propaganda," Lynch said Sunday in an interview with
NBC News. "We are not going to hear him make his assertions of allegiance."
The redacted version was released early Monday. But after Ryan insisted on the unedited transcripts, they were released later Monday.
Graham also faulted President Barack Obama for "attempting to rewrite the narrative on the Orlando shooting," saying that the White House "has long gone out of its way to give Islam a pass and deny their murderous intent."
Mateen, 29, killed 49 people and wounded 53 at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early on the morning of June 12. He was shot dead by police.
During the siege, he called 911 and
the transcript shows he said: "I pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may God protect him [Arabic], on behalf of the Islamic State." Baghdadi has been named as the leader of the terrorist group.
"Islam's Koran spells out very clearly their hatred for gays, Christians, and Jews," Graham said in concluding his Facebook post. "That's the truth, read it for yourself."
Graham has made similar statements about Islam in the past, including another Facebook post made days after the shooting.
Rose Hamid, president of Muslim Women of the Carolinas, wrote an op-ed in
The Charlotte Observer addressing Graham and the implications of his remarks.
"What you are saying about Islam is dangerous for Muslims, America and the world. Your words fuel hate and become recruiting tools for terrorist organizations," she said, and included several quotes from the Quran that appear to contradict Graham's statements.
According to
Fox News, Graham will speak face-to-face with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump Tuesday at an event for evangelical and social conservative leaders in New York City.
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