His Majesty King Abdullah II
Remarks by US President
George W. Bush
and His Majesty King Abdullah II
during a photo opportunity
February 8, 2006
The Oval Office, White House
Washington, D.C.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Your Majesty, welcome back.
I have had two good discussions with His Majesty. Last night, His Majesty and
the crown prince came to have dinner with Laura and me and some members of
Congress, and we had a really good discussion.
We had a little time by ourselves to talk strategically about the world and our
deep desire for this world to be peaceful. Of course, we talked about Iraq,
Iran, the Palestinian territories. And I appreciate your vision and your desire
to achieve a better world for the people in your neighborhood.
We also talked about a topic that requires a lot of discussion and a lot of
sensitive thought, and that is the reaction to the cartoons. I first want to
make it very clear to people around the world that ours is a nation that
believes in tolerance and understanding. In America we welcome people of all
faiths. One of the great attributes of our country is that you're free to
worship however you choose in the United States of America. Secondly, we believe
in a free press. We also recognize that with freedom comes responsibilities.
With freedom comes the responsibility to be thoughtful about others.
Finally, I -- we made it clear to His Majesty and he made it clear to me that we
reject violence as a way to express discontent with what may be printed in the
free press.
I call upon the governments around the world to stop the violence, to be
respectful, to protect property, protect the lives of innocent diplomats who are
serving their countries overseas.
Sir, Your Majesty, thank you for coming. I'm proud to share the moment with you.
Thank you.
HM KING ABDULLAH: Well, thank you very much for your kind words. And I
would just like to echo what the president said. We've had some very fruitful
discussions, and we're appreciative of the vision and the desire that the
president has for peace and stability in our part of the world. He has always
strived to make life better for all of us in the Middle East, and I -- (word
inaudible) -- appreciate that role.
The issue of the cartoons again, with all respect to press freedoms -- obviously
anything that vilifies the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, or attacks
Muslim sensibilities, I believe, needs to be condemned.
But at the same time, those that want to protest should do it thoughtfully,
articulately, express their views peacefully. When we see protests, when we see
destruction, when we see violence, especially if it ends up taking the lives of
innocent people, it's completely unacceptable.
Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, is a religion of peace, tolerance,
cooperation, and we have to continue to ask ourselves what type of world do we
want for our children? I too often hear the word used as "tolerance." And
"tolerance" is such an awful word. If we are going to strive to move forward in
the future, the word that we should be talking about is "acceptance." We need to
accept our common humanity and our common values, and I hope that lessons can be
learned from this dreadful issue, that we can move forward as humanity and truly
try to strive together as friends and as neighbors to bring a better world (to
light ?).
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, Your Majesty.
END.