Lindsey Graham: Using Arabic phrase ‘Allahu Akbar’ to praise God is really a ‘war chant’

On Monday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) disagreed with his pal, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and said that Muslims who use the phrase "Allahu Akbar" to praise God were uttering a "war chant."

During an interview with Fox News earlier this month, host Brian Kilmeade had noted that recently obtained video showed Syrian rebels yelling “Allahu Akbar!” after shooting down a government fighter jet.

"I have a problem helping those people out, if they’re screaming that after a hit," Kilmeade told the Arizona senator.

"Would you have a problem with American Christians saying, ‘Thank God, thank God’?” McCain shot back. “That’s what they’re saying. Come on. Of course, they are Muslims, but they are moderates. And I guarantee you that they are moderates.”

In a radio interview with Graham on Monday, Kilmeade took the chance to prompt the South Carolina Republican to come to his defense.

"Well, Allahu Akbar, I associate with a war chant," Graham opined. "It's not exclusively owned by Al-Qaeda. I've seen people kill Al-Qaeda guys and yell Allahu Akbar."

"But it is -- when somebody yells Allahu Akbar in the Mideast, I duck," he added. "It is not like, 'Hey, how you doing, Lindsey?' It is not -- you know, it's a war chant."

Listen to this audio from Fox News Radio's Kilmeade & Friends, broadcast Sept. 23, 2013.

(h/t: The Hill)