(AgapePress) - A United Methodist missionary is condemning American evangelicals for supposedly advocating intolerance and hatred of Muslims since September 11.

Palestinian-American Alex Awad is one of five United Methodist missionaries in the West Bank. In a recent commentary for the United Methodist News Service, Awad points to what he calls "a wave of anti-Muslim feeling" in evangelical circles, and claims the "unjust policies" of the United States and the Western world fuel Islamic terrorism.

Mark Tooley with the Institute on Religion and Democracy says Awad's commentary is troubling, if not absurd, and shows just how disconnected Awad is with America.

Mark Tooley

"His vocation, as he sees it -- and as most of these missionaries see it -- is to criticize the policies of the Israeli government and to advocate the establishment of a Palestinian state," Tooley says. "So in that regard, they are not missionaries in the traditional sense of the word -- they are primarily political activists and commentators."

Tooley adds that, in his opinion, for the last 40 years the Mission Board of the United Methodist Church has been primarily a political entity rather than an evangelistic one.

Continuing his comments on Awad's commentary, Tooley says the Methodist missionary does not offer a single example of what he is talking about.

"He seems to be more preoccupied with his political cause of advocating a Palestinian state and of legitimizing Islam, than he is in upholding the interests of Christianity -- since the persecution of Christians living in Muslim countries is a far, far more serious problem than is the treatment of Muslims who rightly live in freedom in this country," he says.

Tooley says Awad's "blame American first" mentality can also be attributed to his strong reliance on Arab-language media.

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