Condoleezza Rice presses George W. Bush on his post 9/11 mosque visit, uncovering the hidden pressure behind his ‘Islam is peace’ speech
A case against isolationism.
Two days before the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, former President George W. Bush sat down with his former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, to offer a candid look at the decision-making process that defined the immediate aftermath of that day. During a conversation on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at his presidential center in Dallas, Bush and Rice reflected on the immense pressure they faced.
One of the most striking parts of their discussion was the insight into why Bush chose to visit a mosque just six days after 9/11. It was a moment that felt significant 25 years ago, and hearing the reasoning behind it now adds a layer of depth to how he viewed the conflict. “This decision, shortly thereafter, was to go to a mosque. I did so because I was deeply concerned about stories of women in coverings being harassed at shopping centers, particularly in Michigan,” he said.
It’s clear that Bush viewed the struggle against the terrorists as an ideological one. He felt that if the United States allowed fear and prejudice to dictate how citizens treated one another, the country would be losing the very values it was trying to protect. According to Fox News, by heading to the Islamic Center of Washington on September 17, 2001, he aimed to draw a firm line between the terrorists who committed the acts and the Muslim American community.
Bush wanted to reiterate that Muslims in the United States were not to blame for the tragedy
“I also made it clear that Islam was a religion of peace, not a religion of war, and that these people subverted their religion,” the former president said. He recalled being told that some Muslim women were so afraid of intimidation that they were avoiding public spaces, like shopping centers, entirely. His response at the time was blunt and direct: “That should not and that will not stand in America.”
During the conversation with Rice, he emphasized that if the nation abandoned the freedom to worship, the enemy would have claimed a victory. It’s a powerful reminder that the fight wasn’t just about security or military action, but about maintaining the character of the nation under extreme duress.
The conversation between the two also touched on the broader, often difficult lessons of that era. Bush expressed frustration that many Americans today seem to overlook those lessons. He pointed to a growing sentiment of isolationism, where some feel the country has enough internal problems that it shouldn’t worry about what happens overseas. For Bush, that perspective is a misunderstanding of how interconnected national security really is.
“Our nation occasionally goes through isolationist periods, where the attitude is, ‘Well, we’ve got too many problems at home. Therefore, who cares about what happens overseas?'” Bush explained. “Which really means to me they just don’t pay attention to the lessons of 9/11, because what happens overseas matters to our national security at home.”
Rice and Bush also revisited the high-stakes atmosphere of the immediate aftermath of 9/11
They recalled the terrifying realization that commercial planes had been turned into weapons, leading to orders for all aircraft to land or risk being shot down. Rice shared a chilling detail about the chaos of that day, noting that for about 10 minutes, the administration believed the military had shot down a civilian aircraft.
“There was this horrible moment where the vice president kept trying to get confirmation as to what had happened, and for about 10 minutes, we thought we’d shot down a civilian aircraft,” Rice said. “And that always to me represented just how hard the decisions that you had to take under a lot of pressure.”
CBS News reports that looking back at the next two decades, including the war in Afghanistan, Bush remains firm that the United States should stand with those fighting for freedom. He pushed back against the idea that people living under oppressive regimes don’t understand the value of a free society. He pointed specifically to the progress made by women in Afghanistan, such as those who became doctors and professors, as proof that the difference is understood and felt.
It’s interesting to hear these reflections in today’s shifting political landscape. Bush’s focus on the “ideological struggle” of 9/11 highlights a side of his presidency that often gets lost in the broader historical debate. His visit to the mosque wasn’t just a symbolic gesture; it was a strategic effort to prevent the country from turning on its own citizens, an act he saw as essential to preserving the national soul.
As he put it, “I didn’t want us to lose our soul. I wanted, as we defended our freedoms, I wanted people to remember how precious they are.”
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