Far right wary of Bush's outreach to Muslim community. (People & Events).

Some far-right religious and political leaders are beginning to criticize President George W. Bush for getting too close to Muslim leaders and the Islamic faith generally.

In mid-December Bush hosted a dinner for 50 diplomats from Muslim nations, marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and the holiday Eid-al-Fitr. It was believed to be the first time an Islamic holiday was officially celebrated in the White House.

While most Religious Right leaders and activists remain wildly enthusiastic about Bush, a few on the fringes of the movement are unhappy with the president's embrace of Islamic officials.

"Lots of people I've spoken to -- not just the grassroots but also leaders of other pro-family organizations -- are bewildered at why George Bush is doing so much to pay homage to Islam," Joe Glover of the Family Policy Network, a Virginia-based group known mostly for criticizing gay rights, told Beliefnet.com.

"Conservative evangelicals love Muslims," Glover continued. "They care for them. They want to provide religious freedom for them. However, they are diametrically opposed to Islam. It's the same difference we have with the homosexual community. We care about homosexuals, yet we're opposed to their agenda because we know it destroys their lives. Likewise, we care about Muslims, but we're opposed to even any tacit endorsement of Islam because it's against the will of God."

Janet Folger, head of TV preacher D. James Kennedy's Center for Reclaiming America, is also not pleased by Bush's outreach to Muslims.

"My heart sank when they opened the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance service in the name of God, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus and Allah," she said. "I don't pray in the name of Baal any more than I pray in the name of Allah. Because guess what? Allah is a different god. It's not one big umbrella, and we shouldn't just get along. If you look at the Bible, God isn't real fond of people who pray to false gods."

David Crowe, director of Restore America, a group based in Oregon, chimed in by saying, "We don't believe Islam needs validating at the highest level of American government. A lot of people think Bush has bent way too far over backward to say nice things about Muslims."

In several speeches since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, Bush, who heavily courted Muslims during the 2000 campaign, has called Islam a "peaceful religion." Not all evangelicals agree with this assessment. In late December ex-Watergate figure turned Religious Right activist Chuck Colson asserted on his radio program "Breakpoint" that Islam's true nature is being covered up.

Discussing the case of John Walker, the 20-year-old American who left home to fight for the Taliban in Afghanistan, Colson said, "The Walker case, you see, is really a metaphor for what happens if Americans buy into the politically correct talk about Islam being peace-loving. Christians have to be prepared to take the lead in setting the record straight."