Six days after the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush appeared at the Islamic Center of Washington to meet with leaders of the Muslim community. “The American people were appalled and outraged at last Tuesday’s attacks, and so were Muslims all across the world,” the president told the nation. He added that the terrorists’ “acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith.”

Mr. Bush quoted the Quran: “In the long run, evil in the extreme will be the end of those who do evil.” He condemned...