US Televangelist Robertson Censured for Anti-Islam Rant

US Televangelist Robertson Censured for Anti-Islam Rant

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - US
evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson drew a diatribe Tuesday, March 14,
from American Christian and Muslim leaders for descending in a new rant
against Islam.

"At a time when inter-religious tensions around the world are at an all-time
high, Robertson seems determined to throw gasoline on the fire," the BBC
News Online quoted Reverend Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans
United for Separation of Church and State, as having said.

Calling the comments "grossly irresponsible," Lynn said it seems as if
Robertson was "wrestling with demons of his own; namely intolerance and
bigotry."

"To condemn an entire religion because of the behavior of some is
deplorable," he said.

On his live television program The 700 Club, Robertson said anew Tuesday
that "Islam is not a religion of peace", and "the goal of Islam, ladies and
gentlemen whether you like it or not, is world domination."

He was responding to a news item about the reaction of Muslims in Europe to
the publishing of cartoons that lampooned Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings be upon him).

He said the pictures of violent Muslim demonstrations against the cartoons
"just shows the kind of people we're dealing with. These people are crazed
fanatics, and I want to say it now: I believe it's motivated by demonic
power. It is satanic and it's time we recognize what we're dealing with".

Lynn said it is imperative that Robertson issue an immediate and unequivocal
apology.

"Because millions of viewers have already heard the inflammatory remarks.
When will Robertson ever learn to think before he speaks?"

The offensive cartoons were first published by a Danish newspaper in
September and then reprinted by papers across Europe.

The furor exposed a gulf of misunderstanding between the West, which
defended the publication by citing the right of free speech, and Muslims who
saw it a sort of blasphemy.

"False Message"

Nihad Awad, director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR), said US religious and political leaders must condemn
Robertson's remarks in the strongest possible terms.

"The failure by mainstream religious and political leaders to challenge Mr.
Robertson's Islamophobic remarks will send the false message to Muslims
worldwide that the majority of Americans agree with his hate-filled views,"
he said on the rights advocacy group's Web site.

"The constant, and largely unchallenged, drumbeat of anti-Muslim rhetoric is
poisoning the public's attitude toward ordinary American Muslims."

Two recent polls showed that almost half of Americans have a negative
perception of Islam and that one in four of those surveyed have "extreme"
anti-Muslim views.

The Washington Post's report on the poll findings quoted experts who say
negative attitudes about Islam are "fueled in part by political statements
and media reports that focus almost solely on the actions of Muslim
extremists."

"Islamophobic rhetoric inevitably translates into acts of bias,
discrimination and even violence against Muslims," said Awad.

Robertson has repeatedly defamed Islam and Muslims on his program.

He once called Islam the "religion of the slavers" and said Americans who
reverted to Islam exhibited "insanity."

Robertson had also criticized US President George W. Bush for calling Islam
as a "religion of peace."

During a 2002 appearance on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" program,
Robertson smeared both Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.

His repeated ravings are part of a string of anti-Islamic remarks from
prominent US evangelicals, chiefly Jerry Falwell and Franklin Graham.

http://islamonline.net/English/News/2006-03/15/article04.shtml


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