BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: In Washington, a group of American evangelical leaders publicly criticized anti-Islamic statements made by prominent members of their own movement -- among them evangelist Franklin Graham, who had called Islam "a very evil and wicked religion." At this week's meeting, which was co-sponsored by the National Association of Evangelicals, participants said such remarks endanger missionaries and Christian minorities in Muslim countries. The group proposed guidelines for Christians interacting with Muslims. One of the meeting's organizers was Diane Knippers, President of the Institute on Religion and Democracy.

DIANE KNIPPERS (President, Institute on Religion and Democracy): We recognize that when statements are made in public that are needlessly insulting to another faith, it not only is a very poor representation of Christianity but, in fact, Christians in other parts of the world can suffer because of those actions. So we want to say to our brothers and sisters in Christ, "That's inappropriate language. Please, stop using it. You're jeopardizing very important ministries and work."

ABERNETHY: Knippers also finds fault with liberals who, she says, are too uncritical of Islam.

Ms. KNIPPERS: You can't just say that Islam is a religion of peace. There's too many examples of religiously motivated violence within Islam. We need to talk to Muslims about this. And we will find that there are many, many Muslims who share our concerns about those radical movements.

ABERNETHY: Knippers also wants dialogue with Muslims to include human rights.

Ms. KNIPPERS: I think we could talk about the way women are treated in Saudi Arabia. We need to talk about the way Christians are treated in southern Sudan. We need to talk about religious freedom.