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Fox News Allows Attack on Prophet Muhammad (CAIR Action Alert)
CAIR Action Alert (via email) ^ | 19 September 2002 | CAIR

Posted on 09/19/2002 7:14:35 PM PDT by Stultis

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

CAIR ACTION ALERT #347

FOX NEWS ALLOWS ATTACK ON PROPHET MUHAMMAD
Sean Hannity fails to challenge Pat Robertson's Islamophobic rhetoric

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 9/19/02) - CAIR today expressed concern about what it says is a pattern of anti-Muslim bias by Fox News Channel citing Wednesday night's "Hannity & Colmes" program as an example of how the network promotes anti-Muslim hate. On that program, host Sean Hannity seemed to encourage televangelist Pat Robertson in his venomous attack on Islam and on the Prophet Muhammad.

About the Prophet Muhammad, Robertson said: "This man was an absolute wild-eyed fanatic. He was a robber and a brigand. And to say that these terrorists distort Islam, they're carrying out Islam." Instead of challenging those hate-filled remarks, Hannity said: "Reverend, how widespread do you think that fanatical interpretation is? Do you think it's mainstream? Or do you think it's the majority of Muslims?"

After Robertson replied by calling Islam "a monumental scam," Hannity said: "So Islam is a threat bigger than what most people are willing to say publicly?... Do you think it's inevitable, then, that the world is going to be in conflict, perhaps even at war, with Islam for many decades to come?"

In the program's second segment, Robertson said: "[The Quran, Islam's revealed text] is strictly a theft of Jewish theology…I mean, this man [Muhammad] was a killer. And to think that this is a peaceful religion is fraudulent."

"Our office receives daily complaints from concerned Muslims and people of other faiths who say that Fox's news and views on Islam, Muslims or the Middle East are neither fair nor balanced. Venomous and hate-filled remarks like those made by Robertson, and Sean Hannity's failure to challenge those remarks, poison the minds of ordinary viewers and can incite acts of violence against American Muslims," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.

Awad added that in just the past month, there was a shooting attack on an Ohio mosque, vandalism at Islamic center under construction in Virginia and the revelation of a detailed plan to attack some 50 Florida mosques. He also called on American religious and political leaders to repudiate defamatory attacks on the faith of Islam.

As other examples of the network's anti-Muslim bias, Awad cited Fox's inflammatory coverage of last Friday's "terror scare" in Florida, talk show host Bill O'Reilly's comparison of the Quran to Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and the network's tendency to ambush and abuse those Muslims who do appear on its programs. He did however note that Fox's "On the Record" with host Greta Van Susteren often presents fair and balanced coverage of Muslims and Islam.

In a recent CAIR survey, 45 percent of Muslim respondents said Fox News was the media outlet that exhibited the most biased coverage of Islam and Muslims. CAIR is seeking to counter anti-Muslim hate in American society with its Library Project, a campaign to encourage Muslim individuals and groups to sponsor 18-item "library packages" of books, videos and audio cassettes about Islam and Muslims for distribution to as many as 16,000 public libraries nationwide. The package contains books such as "Muhammad," a biography of the Prophet Muhammad by Yahiya Emerick. SEE: www.libraryproject.org

ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE. Fox is likely to use hostile comments to further harm the image of Islam and Muslims.)

1) Contact Fox to request that they offer fair and balanced coverage of issues related to Islam, and that the network not promote or encourage Muslim-bashers such as Robertson.

CONTACT:

Mr. Roger Ailes
Chief Executive Officer
Fox News Channel
1211 Avenue of the Americas, Lowr C1
New York, NY 10036-8701

FAX: 212-556-8219

E-MAIL: roger.ailes@foxnews.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org, brian.lewis@foxnews.com, robert.zimmerman@foxnews.com, meade.cooper@foxnews.com, bill.shine@foxnews.com, hannity@foxnews.com, colmes@foxnews.com, comments@foxnews.com, Viewerservices@foxnews.com

CALL FOX COMMENT LINE: 1-888-369-4762
CALL HANNITY & COLMES: 212-301-3289
FAX HANNITY & COLMES: 212-301-4222

2) Help educate the American public about Islam by taking part in CAIR's Library Project.
GO TO: www.libraryproject.org

- PLEASE POST, COPY AND DISTRIBUTE -

-----

TRANSCRIPT OF HANNITY & COLMES
FOX NEWS NETWORK
September 18, 2002 Wednesday

GUESTS: Pat Robertson
HOSTS: Sean Hannity, Alan Colmes

COLMES: I'm Alan Colmes. We're back on HANNITY & COLMES.

Coming up tonight, why is one prison in California denying black inmates their right to have visitors? Is this discrimination veiled in the guise of security? We'll debate that. First, joining us now, the chairman and founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, the Reverend Pat Robertson.

Reverend Robertson, always good to have you on the program. PAT ROBERTSON, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK: Hey, it's a pleasure as usual.

COLMES: All right, sir. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops president, William Gregory, said yesterday that it would be difficult to justify preemptive attack under Roman Catholic teachings on warfare. Where do you stand on that?

ROBERTSON: I would tell the good bishop to read the book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament and see what it says about those who kill and pillage and rape and hurt innocent people, that the judgment of the Lord needs to come on them. And you know, with Saddam Hussein, 500,000 innocent Iranians killed, 5,000 to 6,000 Kurds gassed. Who knows how many Shi'ite Muslims and how many of his enemies? He actually boils them in oil. This man is a horrible monster. And...

COLMES: You know, nobody denies that. Nobody is saying they love Saddam Hussein. The question is, what is proper? What is just? Should the United States take a preemptive strike? And does that violate Christian teaching for the United States to be the one to decide we're going after this guy?

ROBERTSON: Well, somebody has got to enforce this. You know, we've been spending a billion dollars a year on that no-fly zone over there every year since the Gulf War. And we went in to help the innocent. We went in to help the oppressed, the Kuwaitis. And now others are being oppressed. And the bible says to lift the yolk of oppression from those who would hurt the innocent and the non-combatants, if you will.

COLMES: You've come on this show many times. We've talked about members of the religion of Islam on this program, your view of people of that religion. And you have often said that not enough have spoken out about the atrocity of September 11. And I want to show you the statement of the Study of Islam and Democracy, signed on by dozens and dozens of individuals and groups where they said, "We wish again to state unequivocally that neither the al-Qaeda organization nor Usama bin Laden represents Islam or reflects Muslim beliefs and practice. Rather, groups like al-Qaeda have misused and abused Islam in order to fit their own radical and indeed anti-Islamic agenda."

And this is again signatories all over the place, dozens. They speak for mainstream Muslims in America and worldwide.

ROBERTSON: You know, I hate to tell you, Alan, but that is absolute falsehood, not on your part, but on the part of those who signed it. All you have to do is read the writings of Mohammed in the Koran. He urges people to attack the infidels. He urges his followers to kill Christians and Jews. He talks about eradicating all of the Jews. This man was an absolute wild-eyed fanatic. He was a robber and a brigand. And to say that these terrorists distort Islam, they're carrying out Islam.

HANNITY: Reverend, how widespread do you think that fanatical interpretation is? Do you think it's mainstream? Or do you think it's the majority of Muslims?

ROBERTSON: I think there are many Muslims, just like there are many Catholics and there are many Jews and there are many Protestants, that don't really understand what their religion believes. And they go along. And they're just kind of easy to get along with folks.

But I think that in the Muslim world, you look at where the terror is, you look at where the dictators are, you look at where the oppression is, and it's all in the Muslim world. And I think especially with Saudi Arabia and Syria and Iran, there is a typical Muslim state. That's a Muslim theocracy.

HANNITY: Yes.

ROBERTSON: And look what the Taliban did in Afghanistan. I mean, these people were carrying out fundamental Muslim teaching.

HANNITY: So Islam is a threat bigger than what most people are willing to say publicly?

ROBERTSON: I don't think there's any question about it. And I think the sooner we confront the enemy and say look, this is the teaching these people. You know, I majored in history in college. And we learned about jihad. Mohammed declared jihad against the infidels. And he carried that thing all the way up to Bordeaux in Spain and the Ottomans, were all the way up to Hungary on the other side of Europe.

HANNITY: What is that -- what do mainstream Muslims to think when they hear what you're saying? Is it that -- I mean, because you're going right to the heart and soul of their religion. And you're saying it's predicated on these things, take neither Christians and Jews for your friends. You talk about jihad, holy war. Some people have argued on this program no, no, that's not interpreted correctly. What -- I mean, it's a pretty direct frontal attack against them. What are they to think when they hear that?

ROBERTSON: All I would say, if you read the teachings of Jesus, he talks about peace. He talks about love your enemies. He talks about do good to them that persecute you. You read the Koran, it says wage war against your enemies. Kill them if you possibly can. And destroy anybody who doesn't agree with you.

I mean, it's all laid out in the Koran. And what is called the hadif (ph), the -- you know, interpretation of what Mohammed said, that this whole thing is in my opinion, is a monumental scam, if you really understand what went on back there in the early days of Mohammed.

HANNITY: Do you think it's inevitable, then, that the world is going to be in conflict, perhaps even at war, with Islam for many decades to come?

ROBERTSON: Unless our government and the leaders recognize the threat, the answer is absolutely yes. And when you see what's done to Christians in Indonesia, for example, when you see the persecution in Saudi Arabia. Here you look at Sudan. They killed two million plus Christians because of Shiria (ph). In Nigeria right now, they're getting ready to stone a woman to death for adultery. And it just goes on and on and on, the list of horror.

COLMES: We're going to take a quick break.

ROBERTSON: Yes.

COLMES: I want to talk to you about your statement that Islam is a sham when we get back. More with Pat Robertson after this.

Later, since that brutal attack on three prison guards in August, black inmates in a California prison are being punished. Is this a blatant case of racial profiling? That's ahead on HANNITY & COLMES tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: Still to come, a brutal attack in California in a prison leads to a crackdown on some of the inmates. But why are some people screaming racism? We'll debate that. We'll tell you about it.

First, we continue with the Reverend Pat Robertson.

Reverend, look, I hate to even say this, I don't want to even think this, but I'm really coming to the conclusion that Tom Daschle and some of the Democrats seem not to have learned a lot from September 11. There is this desire, this gullibility. They're just gullible as -- they want to believe Saddam Hussein after 12 years of lie after lie after lie. And I think that lack of wisdom makes this country vulnerable and susceptible because it allows him, buys him time to get his weapons of mass destruction.

ROBERTSON: You know, Sean, he has violated seven clear-cut resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. Not one, not two, not three, but seven of them. Not to mention the additional internal discussions along the way. He stiffed the inspectors every time. He has prevented them from discovering these weapons of mass destruction. He has an estimated 600 tons of deadly gases and biological chemical agents. Who knows how much nuclear material he's got? The Ukrainians are talking about missing 200 nuclear devices. And if they fell into his hands, we may be in deadly peril from this man. He's a madman.

HANNITY: But the left doesn't get that. They want one more chance. We've got to try to allow the inspectors in. One more time. All it does is buy him time to seek new weapons of mass destruction, allows himself to create alliances with terror groups. And if he ever gets them, he may not have the means of launching them from here, but he certainly can get them to Israel. And he certainly perhaps can get across our borders if he has, you know, alliance with a terrorist organization. They don't get it. They don't get it. They didn't get it when Reagan was fighting the Cold War. They want to abolish the CIA. The left in America doesn't get it.

ROBERTSON: Well, I've read books recently. And I'm sure you have too that go back in the history. And your own book pointed it out, some of the terrible failings of our intelligence. There's a book just out about the intelligence breakdown...

HANNITY: Yes.

ROBERTSON: ...that shows how the left, as you say, opposed virtually everything. You go back to the church...

COLMES: Oh, reverend.

ROBERTSON: ...they wanted to gut the CIA.

COLMES: First of all, Daschle and Gephardt are on the same page as the president. I showed you quotes just a few minutes ago. They're on the same page. They're not even arguing with him. We had one Democrat on tonight as a guest, who's running for office in Chicago, who's finally speaking out as some -- I think most Democrats should. They're on the same page. They're capitulating. There's not even healthy debate in this country, reverend. So to say that the left, the evil horrible left is doing the wrong thing, is just not accurate.

ROBERTSON: Well, you know, they know how to put their finger up in the wind and the voters...

COLMES: Oh, come on. You didn't do any polling when you were running for president? You didn't do any polling when you were running for president?

ROBERTSON: Well, of course you do polling, but they have polled. And they've got the control of the Senate at stake. And they know they'll lose.

COLMES: Yes?

ROBERTSON: And the Republicans are beating them up all over the country, in South Dakota, in Iowa, and Georgia, and...

COLMES: We'll see in a few days. Let me show you something you said, the last time you appeared on HANNITY & COLMES. Let's take a look.

ROBERTSON: All right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Liberals always lie.

COLMES: Oh, please. Come on.

ROBERTSON: They always lie.

COLMES: Come on, that's not...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLMES: What -- Pat, what would Jesus say about that kind of a comment? Liberals always lie?

HANNITY: Amen.

COLMES: Jesus has spoken. Ladies and gentlemen, Jesus has spoken.

HANNITY: He'd say amen.

COLMES: He's come back. He's sitting next to me. We have just seen the second coming. Go ahead.

ROBERTSON: You know, Jesus spoke to the Pharisees. He called them whitewashed tombs. And he said you know, you always speak a falsehood. So he talked about the devil being a liar and the father of lies. So he said some pretty rough words as well.

COLMES: All right. Is that -- do you want to interpret that as anti- liberal, bigotry? You make a blanket statement, liberals lie? Is that -- that's not a Christian like thing to say.

ROBERTSON: Well, it's not Christian but it's true.

HANNITY: It's true.

ROBERTSON: You know...

COLMES: Come on. All liberals lie? They all lie. I'm a liar?

ROBERTSON: Oh yes, they lie from time to time. They don't necessarily lie in every word they say...

COLMES: Wow.

ROBERTSON: ...but their general premise is based on falsehood, so often.

COLMES: Reverend, that seems to me like a lack of critical thinking to make such a blanket statement like that about an entire group of people. I am personally hurt. I'm very sensitive, you know. You hurt my feelings.

HANNITY: Aw.

ROBERTSON: They're diminishing -- I'm not sure, you won't even be in that camp. You're too nice a person to be associated with the...

COLMES: All right, this idea -- and about Islam, you say that Islam is scam.

ROBERTSON: Yes.

COLMES: You're insulting the largest religion on the planet, an entire group of people, when you make a statement like you did in the last segment. Islam is a scam. Do you want to qualify that?

ROBERTSON: Can I tell you why? Can I tell you why?

COLMES: Yes.

ROBERTSON: You've heard of mecca. Mecca, there is a black stone. Mohammed's father and grandfather were keeper of 360 sacred rocks at mecca. And they said there was a meteor or something that fell out of the sky. And the most important deity in mecca was the moon god. And he was the same god that was you know, Ur of Kaldez (ph) when Abraham was up there. And his name was Allah. And he had three daughters. And you remember that the Koran that he wrote into the Koran that he thinks that we should worship those three daughters, and then disciples got after him. So he took the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And Salman Rushdie wrote about the satanic verses.

This whole thing was situational. It took about 20 years to write the entire Koran. 80 percent of it comes from the Jewish and Christian scriptures. He mentions Moses 500 times in the Koran. I mean, it is strictly a theft of Jewish theology. And then he turned around and he murdered all the Jews in Medina. I mean, this man was a killer. And to think that this is a peaceful religion is fraudulent. It just is. I wish people would read the Koran itself and see what it says, because they'd be shocked.

HANNITY: All right, Reverend Robertson, always good to see you. You know what might be a good idea? I think maybe we should you bring back. And I think we need a live, maybe a half hour, an hour debate on the topic. And I don't know if you'd be willing to do that, but I think it would be very informative for our viewers.

ROBERTSON: Well, I think it's one of those things we've got to wake people up before somebody else blows up another tower or hits another military installation.

HANNITY: Reverend Robertson, thank you...

ROBERTSON: Thank you.

HANNITY: ...as always for being with us. Appreciate you being here.

-----

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CAIR Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

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TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; Culture/Society; Editorial; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cair; foxnews; hannity; islam; islamophobia; patrobertson; wahhabilobby
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To: TLBSHOW
because Islam is a fake false religion...

Do you mean as opposed to a real false religion?

81 posted on 09/19/2002 8:54:10 PM PDT by jejones
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To: GeekDejure
Yo, Yo! Truth to Power!
82 posted on 09/19/2002 8:54:49 PM PDT by HIDEK6
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: John Lenin
look another bit of BS FROM CLAIR

First, a high-profile false alarm in Florida; then the arrest of five terror suspects in western New York. Together, the two events raise questions about how zealous Americans should be as tipsters in the homefront war on terrorism ...

83 posted on 09/19/2002 8:55:34 PM PDT by TLBSHOW
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies]

To: MJY1288
What kind of sick twisted "religion" promises an eternal orgy with 72 virgins in paradise as a reward for slaughtering non-believing women and children?
84 posted on 09/19/2002 8:55:52 PM PDT by Travis McGee
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: ClancyJ
FORGET ROBINSON DID YOU HEAR WHAT BILLY GRAHAMS SON SAYS ABOUT ISLAM?
85 posted on 09/19/2002 8:56:49 PM PDT by TLBSHOW
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 80 | View Replies]

To: feedback doctor
They are going to have a tough time in this country. They are used to telling everyone what to do, what to say, what to wear, what to believe.

86 posted on 09/19/2002 8:56:52 PM PDT by ClancyJ
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Joe Brower
They don't know what the word means. Yet.

Across America, "Billybob" is watching FOX while reloading another batch of 300 Ultramax.

87 posted on 09/19/2002 8:57:39 PM PDT by Travis McGee
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Tempest
About the Prophet Muhammad, Robertson said: "This man was an absolute wild-eyed fanatic. He was a robber and a brigand. And to say that these terrorists distort Islam, they're carrying out Islam." This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. I wish people like Robertson weren't portrayed as a conservative leader.

You are wrong. Robertson is a peaceful man, nothing like Muhammed.

If you know of even a single person treated in the same way by Robertson the way Muhammed treated his enemies - by killing them - I'd like to know!

Before you spout this ignorance, read this page on the many people killed on Muhammed's say-so: Muhammed and his enemies

See also this one: Muhammed's killing of the Meccan Ten

As Muhammad grew in power, he began to use violence to obtain his desires. He ordered the murder of many people. He himself did not go out and commit the murders; he had men who were willing to do his killing for him. This paper deals only with the people Muhammad ordered to be executed (murdered) after Mecca peacefully surrendered to him. During his lifetime, he had a number of people murdered, but in this paper we will examine the 10 people he ordered to be killed the day he took Mecca. He had marched upon Mecca with an army of 10,000 soldiers. These men were tough, dedicated Muslims. The Meccan leaders did not think they could defeat Muhammad's army, so they surrendered to him. Muhammad did not destroy Mecca, or massacre it's inhabitants, but he remembered some of his personal enemies, and ordered their execution. As you will see, Muhammad hated some of these people only because they had mocked him years earlier.

Muhammed kills a Jew who is harmless but voiced opposition to him

In Yathrib, Muhammad began to experience opposition by the Jewish tribes living nearby. For the most part, they rejected his message and Islam. The Jews had several treaties with Muhammad, but that did not mean they were on good terms. One of the Jews, Ka`b bin al-Ashraf, vocally supported the Meccans (Quraysh) against Muhammad. He let it be known that he believed that Muhammad was a phoney, not a prophet at all. Note that I provide a lot of detail; I want to quote the references in full, to provide the proper context. I also quote the sources as they are written in English. Some of the words are arcane, but I want to present the words as they have been translated into English. Ka`b was a Jew. He hated Muhammad. Ka`b never lifted a weapon against Muhammad or any Muslim, he only voiced his opinion against Muhammad, and made up some unsavory poems about Muslim women. Muhammad saw him as a threat, and therefore had him murdered in the night. The Jews around Medina were not under Muhammad's rule; they had only entered into a treaty with the muslims. Muhammad did not have legal right to murder Ka`b, rather he took it upon himself to rid himself of a man who hated him.

88 posted on 09/19/2002 8:59:09 PM PDT by WOSG
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 69 | View Replies]

To: Stultis
Quoting Pat Robertson: It took about 20 years to write the entire Koran. 80 percent of it comes from the Jewish and Christian scriptures. He mentions Moses 500 times in the Koran. I mean, it is strictly a theft of Jewish theology.

I'm not sure what the time it took to write the Koran has to do with whether it's valid or accurate, but...surely the New Testament mentions the Old, and nobody appears to take that as a reason to think Christianity is "strictly a theft of Jewish theology."

89 posted on 09/19/2002 8:59:13 PM PDT by jejones
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To: Stultis
Where do the Nation Of Islam people (Farrakhan and those intimidating guys that stand behind Imus and others (or at least did) figure in all this?
90 posted on 09/19/2002 8:59:49 PM PDT by chnsmok
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To: jejones
because Islam is a fake false religion...

Do you mean as opposed to a real false religion?

I think he means their "religion" is both fake and false.

But I think you knew that, and were only interested in sharpshooting.

91 posted on 09/19/2002 9:00:47 PM PDT by HIDEK6
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 81 | View Replies]

To: TLBSHOW
Franklin is on the cair hate list, you know the hate list muslims of islam have against those that speak the truth about what a evil thing islam is.

Franklin Graham slams Islam again
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Evangelist says Quran preaches violence, terrorism "mainstream" in Islam

(WASHINGTON, D.C. - 8/6/02) - A prominent American Muslim civil rights and advocacy group is again calling on mainstream political and religious leaders to speak out against the growing number of extremist right-wing and evangelical commentators who seek to demonize Islam and Muslims.

That call from the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) came after another attack on Islam by Christian evangelist Franklin Graham. In two media appearances yesterday, Graham said terrorism is part of "mainstream" Islam and claimed the Quran, Islam's revealed text, "preaches violence."

On Fox News cable network's "Hannity & Colmes" program, Graham, after repeatedly refusing to deny that Islam is "evil," said: "I think it's [terrorism] more mainstream. And it's not just a handful of extremists. If you buy the Koran, read it for yourself, and it's in there. The violence that it preaches is there."

Hannity responded by saying: "But this then raises a question. If this is not, reverend, the extremist fanatical interpretation of the Quran, then we do have a big problem." Graham replied: "Big problem."

Earlier in the day, Graham appeared on Hannity's nationally-syndicated radio program where he made similar remarks and claimed that Muslim leaders have failed to condemn terrorism, despite the fact that all major American Muslim groups condemned the 9/11 attacks and other acts of terrorism. When a Muslim caller tried to offer a balancing view, Hannity cut his microphone. When other callers openly stated that "Islam is evil," neither Graham nor Hannity challenged those bigoted views.

"Mainstream political leaders and religious figures must speak out against the growing demonization of Islam by extremist right-wing commentators and by representatives of the evangelical Christian community. Defamatory attacks on other faiths can only lead to a spiral of distrust and intolerance that will divide our society along religious lines," said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.

Hooper quoted the Quran, which states: "Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious." (16:125)

In November of last year, CAIR requested a meeting with Graham to discuss his remarks that attacked Islam as an "evil and wicked religion." Graham did not reply to that request. Franklin Graham is the son of Billy Graham, an internationally-known minister who has counseled a number of world leaders. The younger Graham offered the benediction at President Bush's swearing-in ceremony.

In June, leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) refused to repudiate anti-Muslim statements made at the group's annual conference.

The American Muslim Political Coordination Council (AMPCC), made up of the nation's four most prominent Muslim political advocacy groups, is calling on all faith communities to participate in the national observance by opening houses of worship on September 11, 2002, for interfaith visits, prayers, congregational exchanges, and other activities intended to foster national unity and religious tolerance. The AMPCC consists of American Muslim Alliance (AMA), American Muslim Council (AMC), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).

FOX NEWS: HANNITY & COLMES INTERVIEW WITH FRANKLIN GRAHAM, 8/5/02

COLMES: We now continue with Franklin Graham. You were talking about tolerance, you know. And you were widely quoted as saying after September 11 that Islam is a very evil and wicked religion on an NBC show. Do you regret that? And do you feel that that could be interpreted as not being the most tolerant comment?

GRAHAM: Well, first of all, let me just put it this way. If a Roman Catholic put on dynamite and walked into a mosque in Saudi Arabia, in Medina or Mecca and said in the name of Jesus Christ and the church of Rome, I now blow you all up, and then took his life and killed everybody around him, the pope would be on television within hours denouncing this man and saying he does not represent the church. He doesn't represent Jesus Christ. And they would be raising money, not for the family of this man, but they would be raising money for those Muslim victims that died. There has not been the condemnation of the clerics.

COLMES: You're right about that.

GRAHAM: Around the world.

COLMES: But the religion itself is not an evil religion?

GRAHAM: Well, there are -- there is no condemnation. Instead the Saudis are raising funds for not the victims that have been killed in Israel, but for the families...

COLMES: Right.

GRAHAM: ...of those that are blowing themselves up, that encourage more bombings.

COLMES: But is the religion itself evil, in fact?

GRAHAM: Well, you tell me. I mean, just what you see. When people go up and blow themselves up, and the religious leaders of this religion say nothing, something's wrong here. And two plus two doesn't add up.

COLMES: But a lot of people would say that doesn't define the entire religion. Those are extremists who are not definitive of the religion.

GRAHAM: But I'm asking, you know, why doesn't the Islamic world...

COLMES: Well, I agree with you. I think they...

GRAHAM: ...the Muslim world.

COLMES: ...should be outspoken about it.

GRAHAM: ...how come the clerics in Egypt and the clerics in Saudi Arabia, the great muftis that are over there, how come they don't stand --come on your program and say...

COLMES: They should.

GRAHAM: ...what they did is evil, wrong? And it's wicked?

COLMES: I agree with you there.

HANNITY: Well, wait a minute. I want to go a little further here, because Reverend, you're saying something that I've been saying since September 11. The silence has been deafening.

GRAHAM: Yes.

HANNITY: Why is that? Is it that it is more mainstream than anybody -- we always say.

GRAHAM: I think it is. I think it's more mainstream. And it's not just a handful of extremists. If you buy the Koran, read it for yourself, and it's in there. The violence that it preaches is there.

HANNITY: Jihad.

GRAHAM: Jihad.

HANNITY: Holy war. Take neither Christians nor Jews for your friends. Now I'll play devil's advocate. I've invited people on. And almost -- they'll always say that is the misinterpretation.

GRAHAM: Well, first of all, remember, Islam in this country can -- is not permitted to be taught and carried out.

HANNITY: Yes.

GRAHAM: People are protected. Muslims in this country are protected...

HANNITY: Right.

GRAHAM: ...by the Constitution. They're not allowed to treat women in this country the way they do in other nations around the world, Islamic nations. So the Islam you see in this country isn't the same as you see it around the world. And so Muslims here don't quite have the same understanding as they do for those that are raised in places like Saudi Arabia, where a woman cannot even have a passport unless her father or her husband gives it to her. She can't drive a car. She has to be veiled.

HANNITY: But this then raises a question. If this is not, reverend, the extremist fanatical interpretation of the Koran, then we do have a big problem...

GRAHAM: Big problem.

HANNITY: ...with one billion people on the face of this earth that buy into that.

GRAHAM: Well, no, I believe there are hundreds of millions that are nominal Muslims. They're not really practicing Muslims. Like a lot of people in this country claim to be Christians when they're just nominal Christians. They may go to church once a year.

HANNITY: Mm-hmm.

GRAHAM: But I think it's the same in the Islamic world. There are many who don't really buy into this.

HANNITY: You deal with this in your book, the crucial differences between Islam and Christianity.

GRAHAM: I do.

HANNITY: But the point I was trying to make here then, is it a matter that we have to persuade or inform? Persuade people not to go with the literal interpretation or...

GRAHAM: No.

HANNITY: ...inform people that this could be a greater threat than anyone is willing to speak of?

GRAHAM: It is a greater threat than anyone's willing to speak. And it's...

HANNITY: That's scary.

GRAHAM: It is scary.

HANNITY: You scare me.

COLMES: Reverend...

HANNITY: But those -- that literal interpretation scares me.

GRAHAM: Well, it is scary. But listen, my hope is an almighty God. And he sits on the throne of heaven.

HANNITY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

GRAHAM: And for ever person that puts their faith and trust in his son, and is willing to obey his laws and his decrees, I don't care what religion is coming up. (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I believe in Jesus Christ.
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?articleid=887&articletype=3
92 posted on 09/19/2002 9:01:10 PM PDT by TLBSHOW
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To: TLBSHOW
From the beginning, President Bush has been admirably consistent about asking Americans not to blame last year's terrorist attacks on Islam.

Bush is right ... for all its flaws as a religion, remember that the real enemy is an enemy with a POLITICAL PROGRAM.

islam is the enemy and we will not win till we admit it

actually, by making the enemy Islamic terrorist *extremism* we save ourselves from taking on too big a task and also geting support that we wouldnt otherwise get ... remember our beef is not with tthe yemenis or algerians or whomever just because they believe some stuff, its how their beliefs shape ACTIONS AGAINST US ... Let is FIRST get rid of the extremists ... deprogramming and modernizing the Muslim mindset will take generations, let us first defang and neutralize its most toxic elements. The rest will fall into place (free markets, free speech and decent education and in 2 generations it might be up to speed on the truth of things -- dont expect it any sooner!).

JMHO.

93 posted on 09/19/2002 9:05:18 PM PDT by WOSG
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To: WOSG
HANNITY: ...inform people that this could be a greater threat than anyone is willing to speak of?

GRAHAM: It is a greater threat than anyone's willing to speak. And it's...

HANNITY: That's scary.

GRAHAM: It is scary.

HANNITY: You scare me.

94 posted on 09/19/2002 9:15:51 PM PDT by TLBSHOW
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To: swarthyguy
THey're now paying the price for losing credibility with Americans due to the prevaricating mediapeople they've showcased on TV.

My gripe with FOX, and most of the media, is not showcasing more of the real diversity in the Islamic world. Much of that diversity can be found in this country among refugees who have fled repressive Islamic regimes, and/or the terror and chaos caused by intollerant, death-worshiping, hyper-puritanical Islamists, abroad. Instead we get a parade of CAIR type mono-culture Muslims. Even when the media portrays these arrogant Arabist Muslims unfavorably, they are still conspiring with their aim of smothering diversity, dissent and reform within Islam, and establishing their narrow, conformist version of Islam as a percieved (and, eventually an actual) norm.

95 posted on 09/19/2002 9:17:23 PM PDT by Stultis
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To: Stultis
They have Al Jazeera. We have Fox News! If they don't like what's said on Fox, they don't have to watch it.
96 posted on 09/19/2002 9:36:23 PM PDT by mass55th
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To: JMJ333
Thanks for that email, it was very enlightening.
97 posted on 09/19/2002 9:39:19 PM PDT by MissAmericanPie
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To: Illbay
Well, if they needed an expert opinion on religious BIGOTRY, they sure went to a reputable source in Pat Robertson.

Can't disagree with that. But the point is that, in America, criticism of religion, any religion, is protected speech (as is religious advocacy). I might also add that such speech is part of a larger context of critical rationalism which has made both Christianity and Judaism reformist religions, and which has tended moderate and civilize the more extreme elements of these religions.

The wahhabi lobby needs to come to terms with the implications of religious freedom in America. To the extent they attempt to shield Islam from its critics (external and internal, btw) they are at odds with a fundamental American/Western/liberal value.

98 posted on 09/19/2002 9:40:28 PM PDT by Stultis
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To: goldstategop
And here CAIR wants to put criticism of Mohammed off-limits to non-Muslims

Make no mistake, it is not only non-Muslim critics they target and wish to silence:

How CAIR Put My Life in Peril [Moderate Muslim Khalid Duran Attacked by Wahhabi Lobby]

99 posted on 09/19/2002 9:44:59 PM PDT by Stultis
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To: neutrino; Alouette; Yehuda
Islam: the religion of pieces. CAIR can kiss my red white and blue a$$!
100 posted on 09/19/2002 9:50:03 PM PDT by CARepubGal
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