“One of my premises was that, whereas before, as a practical diplomat we tried to keep God and religion out of foreign policy, it was evident to me even as I was completing my time as Secretary of State that religion was playing a larger and larger part in what was going on in the world. And when you look at the issues we’re dealing with today that have to do with the Muslim world, for instance, we absolutely do not understand Islam per se. We have pictures of it that are portrayed only in harsh terms. But we don’t have a real understanding of various apects of Islam. And as Secretary of State you have all kinds of advisers — economic adisers and arms control advisers and climate change advisers — and the point I want to make is that it would be good to have some religious advisers too. There are elements of religious history that are playing themselves out today — primarily in the Muslim world — that affect the way countries behave and the way they see the West. And so it affects how the battle of ideas is carried forward.”
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