MSNBC host Chris Hayes slammed Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly on Wednesday for describing the conflict with the Islamic State terrorist group as a “holy war.”
“That sort of rhetoric is, of course, exactly what ISIS wants,” Hayes said on “All In With Chris Hayes.”
“If this is a holy war, they aren’t some murderous cult or some fringe Sunni militia,” he continued. “No, if it’s a holy war, then they are the representatives of Islam, which is why the President at today’s summit on violent extremism was so careful not to cast the fight on those terms.”
Hayes added that the Islamic State has “had success in framing the fight on their terms not just on Fox News but also to some extent on the battlefield,” noting the rise of a Christian militia in Iraq that has attracted Western fighters, including Americans.
“Can you imagine anything ISIS wants more than a Christian-identified army lining up from Christendom against them?” Hayes asked. “It only feeds their claim that they represent Islam and a holy war against the rest, a narrative that helps recruitment and radicalization, and gives oxygen to the very fire we are trying to snuff out.”
O’Reilly framed the conflict as “holy war” for a second day in a row Wednesday, calling for “Judeo-Christian” clergy to come together and “eliminate the threat from the Earth.”
Watch below:
h/t Mediaite
