CIA chief John Brennan said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday that the Islamic State group is motivated by a violent -- and not a religious -- ideology, refusing to link the terrorist group to Islam. "It is a very twisted, perverted interpretation of a religion that they purport to represent, but in no way do they represent," he said. "It's an ideology of violence. That's what it is. It is not a religious ideology." Fox News host Chris Wallace pressed Brennan, asking if he agrees that Islam is a part of that ideology. Brennan responded, saying, "They purport to be Muslims. But as I said, the overwhelming majority of Muslims throughout the world roundly denounce and condemn what they're doing. And that's why we should not give them any type of religious legitimacy." He clarified that Islamic State ideology "Is a corruption of the Islamic faith. It is a distortion of it. It does not represent the Muslim community or Islam." Wallace then asked Brennan if the CIA was prepared to call the terrorist organization Islamic extremists. "I'm prepared to say that they are extremists," he responded. "They're violent terrorists who misrepresent what the Islamic religion is about -- yes, absolutely." Meanwhile, 74 Syrian soldiers were killed on Monday in an Islamic State attack on a military airport in Tadmur, in Homs province. The attack was part of the terror organization's growing quest to spread into western Syria, where Syrian President Bashar Assad still has control. The attack in Tadmur followed three days of clashes between Assad's forces and Islamic State near Aleppo. Syrian government officials say the Islamic State killed 70 citizens in the area over the weekend alone.
In effort to defend Islam, CIA chief says ISIS not motivated by religion
Islamic State group "is a corruption of the Islamic faith. ... It does not represent the Muslim community or Islam," says CIA chief John Brennan • Asked if they are Islamic extremists, he says, "I'm prepared to say that they are extremists."
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