Senior U.S. general says Muslims worship 'idol' (His God is the real God) [View All]

WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declined on Thursday to criticize a senior Pentagon intelligence official who has told Christian gatherings that Muslims worship an "idol" and not "a real God," and instead praised the general's "outstanding" military record.

Army Lt. Gen. William Boykin, deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and war-fighting support, has used speeches at churches and prayer breakfasts to portray the U.S. battle with Islamic radicals as a fight with "Satan," saying they sought to destroy America "because we're a Christian nation."

NBC News broadcast videotapes of Boykin, an evangelical Christian, giving a number of speeches while wearing his military uniform at Christian functions around the country.

In one speech, Boykin recalled a Muslim fighter in Somalia who said U.S. forces would never get him because Allah would give him protection. "Well, you know what I knew, that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol," Boykin told his audience.

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