LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The Islamic faith has been "contaminated" by political extremists bent on violence, and maligned by some Westerners who unfairly blame the religion for recent terrorist attacks, Queen Rania of Jordan said Friday.
"Well, I think it's very important to realize here that Islam has really been a victim in this," the queen said in an interview with CNN's Larry King. She was speaking via satellite from London, where she and her husband, King Abdullah II, are on a three-day visit to the United Kingdom.
"It has been a victim in two ways. First of all, we have had some extremists who have distorted the image of Islam and have really presented it in its harshest form; stripped it of its spirituality and humanity and really used it as a platform to air their own political agendas and radical views.
"They have taken a religion that is essentially pure, one that builds on Christianity and Judaism, and they have contaminated it with their own radical points of view. So that is one way that it has been distorted.
"The other way is I think the rest of the world, in an attempt to make sense of what has happened on the 11th of September, have tried to explain it by blaming Islam. And that is an oversimplification, I think, and a generalization of the problem."
The queen said the war on terrorism should not be viewed as a "clash of civilizations," nor targeted against Islam, something President Bush has repeatedly emphasized. She credited Bush for making that point, but said more needs to be done to underscore that message.
"There is still a gap I think between the Western world and our part of the world," the queen said. "This gap needs to be closed in. We need to have more dialogue and we need to explain each other's points of view. It needs to be made clear to our part of the world that this is not a war against Islam. In fact, we know there really is no clash. Christianity is not a Western religion. In fact, Jesus Christ was born in our part of the world."
The queen acknowledged that the bombing campaign against Afghanistan will be especially sensitive during Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims.
"The sooner we end it, the less aggravation there will be," she said.
The queen suggested the September 11 attacks might have their roots in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"I think it's very important to realize that the main issue in our part of the world, the main source of anger, frustration, is the Middle East conflict. ... It's impossible for anyone to predict whether the events of September 11 would've taken place had there been peace in the Middle East," she said. "But I believe that even if we do take care of the terrorists in Afghanistan, in the absence of a Middle East peace, then it's only a matter of time before new terrorists come on the stage. "So it is very important for us to really reach a just and peaceful solution in our part of the world.