King of Jordan Agrees with Obama: ISIS Members Aren’t ‘Islamic Extremists’

The King of Jordan, like President Obama, believes Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL) jihadists should not be called “Islamic extremists.”

In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Jordanian King Abdullah II said he thinks Obama “is right” not to refer to ISIS members as Islamic extremists.

“This is something that has to be understood on a much larger platform, because [ISIS is] looking for legitimacy that they don’t have inside of Islam,” said the king.

He declared that members of ISIS are “outlaws” on “the fringe of Islam.”

Lawmakers from both parties have criticized President Obama for not calling ISIS members “Islamic extremists.”

Being referred to as extremists is “exactly what these people want,” the Jordanian king told CNN.

ISIS members “take it as a badge of honor,” he added.

“I don’t know what these people are, but they definitely do not have any relation to our faith,” he concluded.

Jordan is a member of the U.S.-led coalition combating ISIS. The jihadist group burned a Jordanian pilot alive.

In the first interview since the brutal incident was featured in a video released by ISIS, King Abdullah told CNN’s Zakaria that the military efforts against ISIS are the “third world war by other means.”

“I’m a Muslim. [ISIS members] are on the fringe of Islam,” said Abdullah, later adding, “The barbarity with the way they executed our brave hero [the pilot], I think, shocked the Muslim world, especially Jordanians and people from this region.”