In a live panel interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity on Wednesday night, Franklin Graham told Muslims that God loves them and in Christ they can be forgiven and healed.
Franklin Graham, president of Billy Graham Ministries and Samaritan Purse, was joined by co-panelists Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, and Deroy Murdock, Fox News Contributor.
Further, in the interview, Hannity read a quote from a statement made by the President of Egypt, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, emphasising the need for a religious revolution. The President addressed Muslim leaders, urging imams ''to be responsible to Allah for their word because the Islamic world have been torn, have been destroyed, and being lost in their own hands.''
When asked about Graham's reaction to this statement, he took the opportunity to address all Muslim viewers with the message of Christ's love and acceptance for them.
"I want to say something to all the Muslims that may be watching this that are confused and are afraid themselves," Graham said. "I want them to know that God loves them and that Jesus Christ died for their sins — and Christ will forgive them and heal their hearts."
He continued: "And they don't have to die in a jihad, they don't have to kill somebody else to please God. God loves them and he will accept them through faith and through his son, Jesus Christ."
His message is in contrast to that of the Islamic State, Boko Haram and radical imams who are teaching that Muslims should carry out acts of violence to honour the Prophet Muhammad and establish Sharia and an Islamic caliphate by force.
The panelists expressed frustration with the White House over what they perceive to be a lack of concern and inability to take the threats of Islamist terrorists seriously.
Responding to Graham's appeal, Hannity posed that conversion would mean execution for Muslims in some countries where religious freedom is not allowed, and that his plea would not be an easy invitation for them.
Graham acknowledged the danger and clarified that Muslims could acknowledge Jesus in their hearts secretly.
"I'm not asking them to go out openly and denounce Islam, I'm talking about they can do this quietly in their heart. And just say, "God, I believe in you and I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins and I want to invite him to come into my heart and I want his forgiveness and I want him to transform my life. But they don't have to go out and tell their Muslim family what they have done because they'll be killed," Graham said.
