This article from History News Network asks Is Bush Pandering to Muslims?

The authors, including noted Mid East expert Daniel Pipes write:

Islam, then, is not an enemy or a source of terrorism. But officials do not leave it at that. They even postulate two positive features of the religion: its compatibility with American ideals and its potential benefits for the United States.

There is nothing in the religion of U.S. Muslims, Bill Clinton averred, "that would divide us, that would promote terrorism, that would be destructive of our values."40 He and other officials then specified where exactly Islam complemented American values: "Devotion to family and to society, to faith and good works—are in harmony with the best of Western ideals."41 John Beyrle of the State Department found no conflict between Islam and "such Western ideals as personal freedom or individual choice."42 A Department of State fact sheet announced that "most Americans and most Muslims share fundamental values such as peace, justice, economic security, and good governance."43 The most colorful and specific formulation came from Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre: Quoting from the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution—"We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity"— There isn't a word here that a good Muslim wouldn't fight for.44 Better yet, Islam is declared to be a force for good in the United States. Some officials content themselves with vague encomia. Djerejian called Islam "a historic civilizing force among the many that have influenced and enriched our culture."45 Likewise, his successor Pelletreau deemed Islam "a great civilizing movement."46

But on occasion, officials got specific. "We welcome Islam in America," said President Clinton, attributing to it three virtues: "It enriches our country with Islam's teachings of self-discipline, compassion, and commitment to family."47 In another statement, he reiterated two of these virtues and changed the third one: "America is made stronger by the core values of Islam—commitment to family, compassion for the disadvantaged, and respect for difference."48 Albright ascribed a quite different triad of virtues to Islam, "a faith that honors consultation, cherishes peace, and has as one of its fundamental principles the inherent equality of all who embrace it."49 Hillary Clinton found yet other reasons to praise Islam: for its "universal values—love of family and community, mutual respect, education, and the deepest yearning of all—to live in peace ... values that can strengthen us as a people and strengthen the United States as a nation."50

Pipes and Stillman make interesting points, but incorrect conclusions. They see the US as pandering to Islamic extremists. They are wrong. Rather, the unwillingness, and, in the face of September 11, perverse inclination to praise Islam is part of the general pro-religion attitude of the American political establishment. If they were to criticize Islam itself as being a force for evil in the world, then they might be forced to consider whether other religions also might play a less than positive role in world or domestic affairs.

In America, it's not enough to tolerate the religious peculiarities of others, one has to praise religion, and its practitioners. There is no room for the secular in American society.