NEWSWEEK magazine has launched a stinging attack on Franklin Graham for what it believes to be a mangling of his father’s moderation, especially when it comes to Islam.
Religion editor Lisa Miller in her story ‘The Fight Over Billy Graham’s Legacy’ has attributed his hard right position to the fact that he wanted to be friendly with Sarah Palin, a presidential aspirant.
She wrote: “And what of the criticism that Franklin, a Christian minister, takes political sides in a way that his father did not? Billy Graham formed friendships with many politicians, and had intimate (though complex) relationships with both Richard Nixon, a Republican, and Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat. Franklin’s political friendships lean hard to the right. He most recently expressed support for the quixotic presidential candidacy of Donald Trump, telling Christiane Amanpour, ‘The more you listen to him, the more you say to yourself, you know, maybe the guy is right’.”
However, Miller – who called Franklin Graham a ‘theological bully’ – has convenient ignored what he told Amanpour about Muslims in the interview. He had said: “I love Muslim people. I don’t believe that Mohammed can lead anybody to heaven. I believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the light. That’s what I believe.”
