First Lady Warns Of Split, Calls For Tolerance

First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Thursday that nations risk splintering apart like the former Yugoslavia if citizens don’t work harder at tolerance and understanding.

“There are many places where those who would divide us, who would stereotype us, are sowing their evil seeds,” she said.

Clinton, on her 27th visit to California since becoming first lady, praised a Muslim group for educating Americans on Islam and held the organization up as a model.

“We have to stand up against our own voices of hatred and division,” she told nearly 300 listeners at a lunch sponsored by the Muslim Public Affairs Council. “It’s especially important we do so by celebrating and respecting each other.” A better understanding of Islam, she said, is “long overdue.”

Muslim leaders praised Clinton for working with the Islamic community to reverse misperceptions.

The first lady’s visit came a day after her Bob Dole, completed a campaign swing through California.