His position, when you come right down to it, is a reasonable and legitimate one for someone to hold.

The Rev. Franklin Graham, who outraged Muslims in 2001 when he said that Islam "is a very evil and wicked religion," told an interviewer for Wednesday's edition of ABC News "Nightline" that he hasn't changed his mind about the faith.

Asked by ABC correspondent John Donvan whether Muslim groups had succeeded in altering his outlook about Islam, Graham said "No."

"Do they want to indoctrinate me? Yes. I know about Islam. I don't need an education from Islam," he said. "If people think Islam is such a wonderful religion, just go to Saudi Arabia and make it your home. Just live there. If you think Islam is such a wonderful religion, I mean, go and live under the Taliban somewhere. I mean, you're free to do that."

Read the Koran. Read the Hadith. Look at the history and the present of Islam. It is hard to argue with the assessment of this Christian leader -- especially when one considers that the claims made about Christ by Islam can only be described as blasphemous.

Let's delve a little deeper into why he makes the claim.

The younger Graham angered Muslims following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when he told NBC News: "We're not attacking Islam but Islam has attacked us. The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God, and I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion."

Islam is a religion that claims the Old and New Testaments are wrong and corrupted (despite the fact that evidence shows remarkable accuracy in the preservation of OT texts over the last couple of millenia, andthe evidence of the textual fidelity of the New Testament is very strong. Jesus is relegated to the status of prophet, and thee Resurrection is labeled as false. Sounds like a different God to me.

And Graham makes a crucial distinction, one I affirm with him.

In a subsequent Wall Street Journal piece, Graham wrote that he doesn't think Muslim believers "are evil people because of their faith. But I decry the evil that has been done in the name of Islam, or any other faith — including Christianity."

Good people -- evil faith.

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