Maher to Guest Defending Islam in Wake of Boston Bombings: 'That's Liberal ####'

NewsBusters.org ^ | April 20, 2013 | Noel Sheppard

[Kaslin]

Bill Maher on HBO's Real Time Friday made a statement that will make the Right cheer as the left predictably cringes.

After his guest Brian Levin - the director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino - said of the Boston bombings and how it relates to radical Islam, "We have hypocrites across faiths, Jewish, Christian who say they're out for God and end up doing not so nice things," Maher marvelously responded, "That’s liberal bulls--t right there" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Maher to Guest Defending Islam in the Wake of Boston Bombing: 'That's Lberal Bulls--t'

BILL MAHER, HOST: So you're obviously the perfect person to have here today. You study this all the time, the mind of crazy people who do horrible things. I'm always interested to know how people like the people we caught today up in Boston can have two minds going at the same time. I mean, if you read what the older brother wrote on his, on the internet, he said his world view: Islam. Personal priorities: career and money. And we see this a lot. I mean, the 9/11 hijackers went to strip clubs the night before they got on the plane.

BRIAN LEVIN, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HATE AND EXTREMISM AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN BERNADINO: Could I just interject? Look, it's not like people who are Muslim who do wacky things have a monopoly on it. We have hypocrites across faiths, Jewish, Christian who say they're out for God and end up doing not so nice things.

MAHER: You know what? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what? That's, that’s liberal bullshit right there. I mean, yes, all faiths…

LEVIN: There are no Christian hypocrites?

MAHER: No, there are.

LEVIN: You make a career on that.

MAHER: They just, they're not as dangerous. I mean, there's only one faith, for example, that kills you or wants to kill you if you draw a bad cartoon of the prophet. There’s only one faith that kills you or wants to kill you if you renounce the faith. An ex-Muslim is a very dangerous thing. Talk to Salman Rushdie after the show about Christian versus Islam. So, you know, I’m just saying, let's keep it real.

LEVIN: Well, I guess I have a girl for you, Pam Geller you could maybe meet. No, I really disagree with you.

MAHER: I don't know what that means.

LEVIN: Well, she’s an Islamaphobe. But, no I…

MAHER: I’m not an Islamaphobe. That’s wrong. I am a truth lover. All religions are not alike. As many people have pointed out, “The Book of Mormon.” Did you see the show?

LEVIN: No, it's hard to get tickets.

MAHER: Okay, can you imagine if they did "The Book of Islam?" Could they do that? There’s only one religion that threatens violence and carries it out for things like that. Could they do “The Book of Islam” on Broadway?

LEVIN: Possibly so.

MAHER: Possibly so? Tell me what color the sky is in your world.

LEVIN: Here's my difficulty with your premise here, Bill, and that is look at how religions over history have had things done in their name that have been terrible.

MAHER: Absolutely. But we're not in history. We're in 2013.

LEVIN: But what I would tell you…

MAHER: You're right, during the Middle Ages, I would say Christianity was the bigger problem.

LEVIN: If I may, though. You are making an error in that Islam has over 1.4 billion adherents. There’s a heterogeneity to it. Are there extremists who are horrible people who would slit your throats? Yes. But there are also folks that are fine, upstanding people.

MAHER: Of course.

LEVIN: And I'm very worried you have a national audience where we're promoting Islamic hatred.

MAHER: No, you're wrong about that and you're wrong about your facts. Now, obviously, most Muslim people are not terrorists, but ask most Muslim people in the world, if you insult the prophet, do you have what's coming to you. It's more than just a fringe element.

Folks that are surprised by this shouldn't be, as this isn't the first time Maher has come out strongly against radical Islam.

In 2011, he told Muslim Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) that the Koran is a "hate-filled book" and that "the threat potentially from radicalized Muslims is a unique and greater threat" than from "right-wing militias and Timothy McVeigh types."

As for going after the hypocrisy of the Left, Maher last month said in regard to the high taxes he's now paying, "Liberals - you could actually lose me."

Is there hope for Bill Maher?

Is it possible the far more reasonable person that existed in the '90s with a program on Comedy Central called Politically Incorrect is starting to reemerge after more than a decade of hibernation?

Let's pray.

[GOPJ]

BRIAN LEVIN, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HATE AND EXTREMISM AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN BERNADINO

Who wants to bet the ONLY terrorists Brian Levin 'fears' are political opponents of Obama? He's on a witch hunt and he's a hater. Muslims aren't on his list - but Christians and Orthodox Jews are... what a jerk. Oh - and three cheers for Bill Maher...

[GOPJ]

And exactly how many hundreds of years ago are you talking about?

Might be time to look at a Calender and join the real world. Maher's right on this issue. TODAY we are dealing with a radical Muslim problem. That's on the table today. Today. Today. Today. IN OUR TIME.

It's like that weird thing some did with hating Germans and "japs' decades after the War... The evil people in charge during World War II are dead. They aren't leaders of those countries any more... The ideas the pushed their hate is not in vogue.

And your position about the Christian Church - actions fom hundreds of years ago impacting today is even ... what's the word... odder?

[NFHale]

If ANYBODY can recognize “liberal bullsh*t” Maher can. He mastered the art of it a long, long time ago.

A hate-filled man with a microphone. A shame he hasn’t used his position to influence people in a good direction.

[Tzimisce]

The left is running the country into the country into the ground and no one is letting out so much as a girlish squeal to stop them.

If I were a liberal in 2013, I’d be wiping my ass with everyone too.

[Almondjoy]

Please enlighten me if you are so much smarter than me. I can list 100 mistakes the Catholic Church made. Including inciting murder, theft, and any number of things. Now if you are throwing the word “ignorant” out because you think I put the Catholic Church and Muslims on the same plane of existence then you would be the one that is ignorant.

[DManA]

I wasn’t talking about the Catholics. I was talking about the depredations of the Muslims on everyone. The magnitude and duration of which you seem to be ignorant of.

[laplata]

I think the great majority of card-carrying libs and leftist know that Islam is the biggest threat in the world. But they’re just so conditioned to hating conservative Christians most of them cannot bring themselves to speak the obvious.

---

Exactly.

Please see my tagline.

[Almondjoy]

Throwing insults instead of explainations. You’re a real gem.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Maher marvelously responded

There is nothing "marvelous" about Bill Maher.

[DannyTN]

"We are starting to realize that the reason there was a middle [dark] age is because Islam terror drove Christendom into it."

That's what I learned in grade school way back in 1972. But I bet that's not what they teach now.

[MWFsFreedom]

"What we need is for highly visible Islamic religious leaders to step forward and publically and repeatedly condemn the Jihadists and then to act in accordance with their words by outing would be terrorists."

This plan of yours assumes that there is such a thing as Islamic religious leaders who *don't* condone these actions. If they tell you their religion is about peace, love, and that they're moderates, they very well could be lying to you to placate you into submission. Lying is allowed by their religion.

One of the other top 5 most dangerous assumptions you can make about islam is that it is *just* religion. Muslims do not have a Two Kingdoms view of the world like Christians: That of State and that of Religion. In Islam Religion IS the State, and can't be separated. This is one of the aspects that makes it so dangerous. The religious rantings of their religious leaders IS the law.

[bjc]

Look, I am not naïve and I understand the tenets of Islam. I am trying to think of ways to influence the mindset of regular attendees at Mosques. We went for almost 80 years with little or no virulent Islamic fundamentalism that had a significant impact on the West. The potential for Jihad was and is always there. The question is what can be done to diffuse the current situation - and I do not mean appeasement in any way, shape or form. I do not see that it is impossible to co-exist with Muslims. The alternative is a very, very unpleasant prospect.

[FredZarguna]

What rubbish. The Roman Church was thoroughly hostile to the idea of the United States of America. Don't try to bulldoze me; I am an apostate of that Church and spent 12 years in Parochial school learning all the nonsense that you learned.

Four adherents of the Church of Rome signed the Declaration of independence? Not even close.

Like most of your "history" this is nonsense. The exact number is ONE: Charles Carrol.

Big Deal. How does that compare to the percentage of Christians who adhered to the Church of Rome in 1776? [Hint: insignificant]. What was their percentage in the entire country? [Hint: insignificant.] Where did the Scottish Enlightenment begin [Hint: a Protestant country.] How many of the founders were deists? [Hint: not that many.]

Attempts to claim Washington as a deist deny the many references he made to the intervention of Providence; hardly a deist position. They also ignore the fact that he was an habitual churchgoer, long after it was no longer politically or socially necessary. The Adams were Unitarians, which was not, until after Emerson's time, a deist philosophy. Yes, Jefferson was a deist, and so was Franklin. So I can see how you might be confused that there were huge numbers of deists among the founders: there were at least twice as many of them as there were Papists.

And by the way, there is even a question about whether Caroll was actually an adherent of the Church of Rome. There is some speculation that he was a Freemason. [His son actually was one.] That would have implied de facto excommunication.

What does Freedom of conscience mean to the Roman Church? Why, in fact, it is regarded as heresy. The Founders' belief in the separation of church and state has a special name in the history of the Roman Church. The heresy is referred to as Americanism.

Deny it.

Most of the Founders, and most of the Founders' ideas came from the English and later Scottish Enlightenments. Those ideas are ultimately founded in the rejection of an arbitrary temporal authority beyond human reason; and that idea in itself is a rejection of the Magisterium, the Pope, the Hierarchy, and Rome. Leo XIII knew this, even if you don't.

[FredZarguna]

By the way, it is well documented that Christian killed Christian in very, very high numbers – possibly in the multi-millions

Cite a document.

[kevkrom]

Maher is a misogynist pig. He’s right here, but that’s by no means a free pass on the bile that he otherwise spews.

[FourtySeven]

Noted.

[New Jersey Realist]

Cite a document indeed!

Are you for real? Go to any public library and you will find many relevant documents under the heading of “Inquisition”….a period that lasted around 600 years. The Roman Catholic Church was the bad guy here responsible for up to 50 million deaths of the TRUE CHRISTIANS. Anyone who disagreed with the Catholic Church led by satanic popes were considered heretics and murdered. The so called church during that time sold indulgences, tortured and confiscated private property, etc., etc. It is a sad period of history of the present Catholic Church.

If you are a fundamentalist, Protestant Christian, or a Bible reader and believer in Christ and lived during that time you would have been considered a heretic. If you are a Catholic, take heart, no one blames you for that past.

Probably the best book out of hundreds to read about this is “Vicars of Christ”, by historian Peter de Rosa. Or you can go to this website

http://www.truthbeknown.com/victims.htm

There are many references to chroniclers of that sad period of history. In particular watch the hour long video for eye-opening testimony.

[Cronos]

As usual, you are wrong

1. There were no Baptists among the Founding Fathers --> there were
   1. Church of England/Episcopalian: 28
   2. Presbyterian: 8
   3. Congregationalists: 8
   4. Lutherans: 2
   5. Dutch Reformed: 2
   6. Methodists: 2
   7. Catholics: 3 (C. Caroll, D. Caroll & Fitzsimons)
   8. Deists: 7 (including Thomas Jefferson
   So perhaps since there were no Baptists, they shouldn't be considered (according to your statement) Americans?

2. Evidently you never heard that Maryland was founded for providing religious toleration of England's persecuted Roman Catholics?

3. Evidently you never knew that John Caroll had initially been a priest before devoting himself to the Revolution?

4. Evidently you never heard of Fr. Pierre Gibault who pledged the support of the region of S-W Indiana to the USA (to Col. George Rogers Clark)?

5. Evidently you never heard of the accomplishments of John Barry, a native Irishman who captained a number of ships during the war. Barry was the first to capture a British war vessel on the high seas; he also was wounded in a sea batter yet captured two British ships and fought the last battle on the seas of the Revolutionary war. He was George Washington's choice for commander of the US navy -- he was issued Commission Number 1 by Washintong and was not only the first American commissioned naval officer but also it's first flag officer

6. Evidently you've never heard of the Marquis de Lafayette, a Catholic or the Polish captain Tadeusz Kosciuszko and both were key in the Revolutionary War?
7. Evidently you never heard of Casimir Pułaski, a Pole who led Washington's cavalry and died in the battle for Savannah

8. Evidently you never heard of the Catholic Philadelphia merchant Stephen Moylan who became Quatermaster General of the Continental Army?

9. John Caroll says this about Catholic participation in the Revolutionary war (remember the country was only 1.6% Catholic):"Their blood flowed as freely, in proportion to their numbers, to cement the fabric of independence as that of their fellow citizens. They concurred with perhaps greater unanimity than any other body of men in recommending and promoting from whose influence America anticipates all the blessings of justice, peace, plenty, good orders, and civil and religious liberty"

The religious freedom fought for was also religious freedom for Catholics from Protestant England, hence the Catholic volunteers and support from Catholic Irishmen, Frenchmen and Poles.

[Cronos]

Most of the Founders, and most of the Founders' ideas came from the .

Incorrect, they rejected the views of Cromwell and their ideas were from Greek and Roman democracy ideas down to the terms they used, Senatus and Congress from Latin and the methodologies used.

[cynwoody]

A plague that would wipe out any and all members of the Saudi family would be a geneticists community college project these days.

Sounds like you're onto a good movie plot.

science.slashdot.org/story/12/10/29/0241252/designing-dna-specific-bio-weapons