British MP and anti-war activist George Galloway told a crowd of about 1,000 at the Union Theater on Sunday night that the governments of the United States and Britain had created a “swamp of hatred” among Muslims worldwide that led to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and al-Qaida.
Galloway, speaking in Madison as part of his “Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington” North American tour, said that while he did not excuse the actions of terrorists – calling the Sept. 11 New York and July 7 London attacks “criminal acts of mass murder” – he believed that the past actions of the U.S. and United Kingdom toward Muslims helped motivate the attacks.