 Some have pointed out that the word "Islam" is etymologically related to the Arabic word "salām" meaning "peace".This prompted criticism from some quarters and a poll of United States Evangelical Protestant leaders taken in 2002 revealed that only 10% agreed with Bush that Islam was synonymous with peace.Mahathir bin Mohamad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia said in 2002, "Islam, as I said, is a religion of peace.