Pat Robertson did it again. On his 700 Club television show yesterday he said, “Islam is not a religion of peace.”
In response to a news story on his program concerning the recent violence around the world over some cartoons that are insensitive to Muslims, Mr. Robertson said, “…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…The goal of Islam, ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not, is world domination.”
Is he really wrong this time? It’s my personal belief that he’s not…this time. I keep reading and hearing people try to tell me that Islam is a religion of peace. I’m not seeing it, are you? Burning buildings over cartoons isn’t peaceful and doing it almost eight months after the fact makes it seem even more ridiculous! Bombing churches, especially churches of your own religion doesn’t seem very peaceful. Killing innocent people…men, women and children...doesn’t seem peaceful to me. Does it to you? Taking people hostage, especially those that are there to help in your cause, and then killing them doesn’t seem peaceful.
That’s what happened to Tom Fox. He was over there to be one of those human shields. Guess these radicals figure with Allah on their side, they don’t need any stinking shields!
I read somewhere that the state-run Iranian newspaper is asking for Jewish cartoons. Wanna bet that the Jews won’t respond the way the Muslims did when these cartoons are published?
Think about it for a second. What happened when Christians found out about the supposed art work called "Piss Christ"? I can’t find where it was originally displayed, but in my search, I found this from Wikipedia …Piss Christ is a controversial photograph by American photographer Andres Serrano. It depicts a small, plastic crucifix submerged in a glass of the artist's urine. Some have suggested that the glass may also contain the artist's blood. The piece was a winner of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art's "Awards in the Visual Arts" competition, which is sponsored in part by the United States National Endowment for the Arts, which offers support and funding for projects that exhibit artistic excellence.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Ben
Wow, this is incredibly offensive. I'm Korean and I have many close friends that are muslims (ranging from devout to not practicing) and they all have friends of varying religions and ethnicities.
Aside from that, yes there are lots of angry muslims out there who are giving the religion a bad name, that can't be denied but it's unfair to blame the entire religion and everybody that's a part of it.
To compare Christianity being attacked to the attack of Islam is like comparing a white male New Yorker being descriminated against as opposed to an African American being descriminated against in Booger Hollow Alabama. Both are wrong, but at the end of the day, the New Yorker is a white man living in America. At the end of the day, even after "Piss Christ," Christianity was still the dominant religion in the United States controlling all aspects of government policy making from the local to federal level.
Muslims don't have the benefit of any of this. Instead, they have a white Christian controlled government opressing them on a worldwide scale.
I'm not defending the actions they've taken in protesting the cartoons but some of the claims you made are ridiculous. The world isn't black and white and there's not always a right answer to everything. Both sides here are wrong and people need to calm down and talk things over.
2 - Andy Marsh
Hate to tell you this Ben, but those folks over there in the middle east have half the money in the world and most of the oil...and somehow...it's still Americas fault that they're oppressed...again...not my flavor of Kool-aid.
You can spew that crap about both sides being wrong...but one published cartoons...the other killed people for it...just a bit of a difference there. I'd call it a bit of OVERKILL!
3 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Andy,
If you've been reading the comments on Blog Critics carefully, you would know that the word "Moslem" means someone attempting perfection (completion) through submission to G-d. Islam means completion (through submission to G-d).
Robertson is not wrong in stating that Islam is not the religion of peace. But he is being disingenuous by implying that it ought to be so considered. Bush, in making this claim, is merely showing the manure dribbling on his chin from kissing Saudi ass. Someone in his PR department ought to wipe away the manure. Even here we can smell it...
Or is it the smell of the firecrackers kids are lighting in honor of Purim?
4 - Don't want Sharia
I think he's right this time as well. Islam in general will not tolerate any dissent from Islamic law. And its goal is to spread that law to every person and place around the globe. Those that do not follow Islam are supposed to be put to death.
5 - Ben
I'm not going to deep get into this. You're not going to convince me of anything and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to convince you of anything.
The actions of those protesting the cartoons can't be defended. It's unfortunate that it happened and it's unfortunate that they've been pushed that far.
Nothing in this complex world is as simple as "cartoon + violent religion = blood shed"
As for the people that have half the money in the world and most of the oil, those few in posession of that are the ones rubbing elbows with our president and the American people are the ones making that oil so valuable in the first place.
I'm going to step out of this now since I'm at work but I'm interested to see what others have to say...
6 - Andy Marsh
Ruvy - I read MOST of the comments...some of them are just to much. I understand what you're saying.
It's not Robertson calling Islam the religion of peace, it seems to be Muslims that call this religion what it isn't. I honestly see nothing peaceful about this religion.
I mean really, I stayed in a hotel in Egypt and if you leave your window open, this religion doesn't even let you sleep in!
I'll wait and see if I can get the three examples I asked for in my post...but I won't hold my breath.
7 - Aaman
Dr Abdul Kalam, Imran Khan, Tariq Ali - all public figures, all peaceful. What a jejune expectation!
8 - Ben
Muslims organizations also participated in tsunami relief and hurricane katrina relief. Some organizations also donated to 9/11 funds, this shouldn't be a surprise because NOT ALL MUSLIMS ARE THE SAME.
9 - Anil Menon
Andy: ref to three examples.
Here's one example.
This link points to others.
Good luck in escaping your not uncommon predicament.
10 - Dawn
Andy - while your assessment is a generalization and we all know generalizations can be dangerous, I can certainly understand your feelings.
Clearly there are lots of good-hearted Muslims in the world, but the current climate surely emphasizes the negative.
In my opinion, this cycle of violence will continue until the majority of good Muslims outnumber those who wish to commit acts of violence.
In the meantime, we must praise the good and pray for peace.
Oh, and kill Osama Bin Laden until he is dead, dead, deadski.
11 - A.L. Harper
Pat Robinson is an arse.
12 - Aaman
the majority of good Muslims DO outnumber those who wish to commit acts of violence.
Do you really believe otherwise?
13 - Andy Marsh
Anil - your first link is to Hindu's being nice to Muslims...not the other way around...I guess you could classify it as Muslims being peaceful, which is what I asked for...but for every one example of them being peaceful I can give you at least 10 of them being violent.
I agree Dawn, there are good hearted Muslims in the world. The only problem is there aren't enough of them being vocal about how fucked up some of the most powerful ones are.
I've read here on BC before where some would compare the Puritans back in the 1600's to what's happening today in the Muslim world...I believe it was meant to show how evil christianity can be. My response when I read that comment at the time was how many puritans are left?
The problem here is that the radical element of this religion doesn't seem destined to end any time soon. There are to many imams out there teaching hate and to many ignorant people ready to strap on a bomb and do what they're told.
Pat Robertson can spew hate all day long AND NOTHING HAPPENS! Ask Hugo Chavez. One well placed imam or mullah can have who knows how many brainwashed kids walking into marketplaces with bombs strapped to their asses?
14 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Andy, et al.
Let me make this real simple for everybody. ISLAM IS NOT THE RELIGION OF PEACE. ISLAM MEANS COMPLETION THROUGH SUBMISSION TO G-D.
So all this crap about Islam NOT being the religion of "peace" and whining about it is an argument knocking down a straw man. If you are stupid enough to believe some Wahhabi snake oil salesman selling you this line of garbage, you deserve to be fooled. These things can be looked up in this modern day and age.
Every now and then Pat Robertson is right about something. Every now and then my wife would win a few bucks in the Minnesota State Lottery. It all boils down to the same thing. Basically, you can count on Robertson to be wrong, or to be disingenuous about what he says.
ONCE - in his comments about Sharon being hit by a stroke - Robertson was right. That about sums up his batting average - .001.
And for the thousandth time. It is the Wahhabis and their spoor - the Moslem Brotherhood, the Saudi dynasty, Al Qaeda and the Taliban - who say that anyone who is not a Moslem deserves to die. The rest of the Moslems do not say any such thing. I'm beginning to see why they say teachers are underpaid...
15 - zingzing
dude, you're full of shit. sure, there is lots of violence stemming from islam. it's a rallying point that the violent use. the religion isn't violent, it's the people that are. those people are a minority.
one could say that since bush is a raving lunatic christian, that all the violence done by the united states armed forces is a christian attack against muslims. that's the way the voilent muslims want the rest of islam to see it, because it will make them believe that a religious war is on the way. they are manipulating and using islam as a source of power and recruiting, not the other way around. it's just a fucking front. an excuse! that's all it is.
think about this. islam, in its current form, is about 6-700 years younger than christianity. what were christians doing 6 or 700 years ago? roving the earth, destroying in the name of the lord! convert or die, heathan!
think of it as growing pains. muslims are not fucking stupid. don't assume they are. those who want violent change want that change because they want the power that will be available in the aftermath. their religion is the shield they choose to employ. you can't blame an old book for the evil that men do.
re your "i can think of 10 examples [in the news] of muslims being violent for every 1 example of them being peaceful" or some such nonsense bullshit... PEACE DOES NOT MAKE THE NEWS, WAR DOES. that's like saying "I CAN SHOW YOU 100 PICTURES OF PENGUINS I SAW [IN THE ARCTIC] FOR EVERY 1 PICTURE YOU CAN SHOW ME OF A PLATYPUS." you don't find stories about peaceful muslims in the press... and you don't find platy... pusses? pi? ...whatever, you don't find them in the artic.
or the antarctic. whatever. shit.
16 - zingzing
i'm referring to the writer of the article, not you, ruvy... although your comment is rather confusing.
17 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Yup, Zing,
What do I need to do to get my point across - draw letters of fire in the sky?
I'm definitely beginning to see why they say teachers are underpaid.
18 - Andy Marsh
Bush never did anything in the name of Christianity.
And why is it because some group did something six or seven hundred years ago that it's ok for another group to be doing it today? It was wrong then, they obviously figured that out and it's still wrong....you know...the puritans again. It's the 21st century...time to catch up!
and lastly..dude, I know I'm full of shit, that's why my eyes are brown.
19 - tommyd
Pat Robertson is a major league asshole, please people whatever you do, don't believe what that devil says. The goal of Muslims is NOT "world domination". The goal of Muslims is that their land is not occupied by foreign armies and not forced to join the New World Order of Godless consumption and entertainment. Their goal is self-determination to live as they see fit and would respond much better to fair and open diplomacy as opposed to being "liberated" by American bombs.
Scapegoating Muslims is "free speech", but saying a bad word about Jews and you end up in prison. Mmmmmm. YOU, Mr Westerner might not find anything wrong with that but according to the Muslim code of justice, there certainly is ALOT wrong with that double standard. And Western countries INVITED Muslims into their lands in the first place, OK. The Westerns are now in "shock" because Muslims remain devout towards their religion and haven't "assimilated" into Western "culture" of decadence, godlessness, materialism and sexual promiscuity. The problem is that Muslims don't belong in the West but they are unfairly scapegoated and their "threat" is hugely exaggerated.
You people should really learn to empathize with your enemy if you're ever going to have peace in this world.
20 - zingzing
it's not okay for them to be doing it now and it wasn't right then. but, it's the same thing. you can't blame the bible for the crusades. if i could, i would... but i can't. it's the stupid fucking christians.
and no, bush never did anything in the name of christianity (although god does tell him what to do he says), but that doesn't matter. it's all about how the extremist muslims twist it. like you twist their violence into a hatred-filled diatribe against all muslims.
hey ruvy-- you say something like "islam is not a religion of peace," but then follow it up with something about specific groups being evil, while the majority are peaceful. which is it? just want to know. maybe you should restate what you said...
21 - Andy Marsh
Who's scapegoating anyone? I'm blaming Muslims for what Musims are doing.
You say they don't belong in the west...but they are there and it looks like they intend to stay, so they better learn to get along. It's a big sand box and we all need to get along. I happen to like my decedant ways and I'm not changing. You want to live in the stone age, so be it, but not in my neighborhood. We have electricity now and running water...and schools for our daughters.
You say they were invited. The door is always open, but when you come here, you live by OUR rules...the rules of civilization. Like most have and probably still want to...but it's my feeling that not enough of them speak out against the bullshit and until that happens, shit won't change.
Yeah Robertsons' an idiot. I never said he wasn't. and I'm not drinking any of his Kool-aid either.
22 - Andy Marsh
I don't blame the bible for the crusades..I blame the Muslims for that also.
23 - zingzing
you've got to be kidding...
24 - Michael J. West
I don't blame the bible for the crusades..I blame the Muslims for that also.
Is that a joke? That's like blaming the Polish for Hitler's invasion of Poland.
25 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Zing writes,
"hey ruvy-- you say something like "islam is not a religion of peace," but then follow it up with something about specific groups being evil, while the majority are peaceful. which is it?" just want to know. maybe you should restate what you said...
What I said is - for the third time - ISLAM IS NOT THE RELIGION OF PEACE. ISLAM MEANS COMPLETION THROUGH SUBMISSION TO G-D.
That is a definition based on my knowledge of Hebrew, a sister language of Arabic. So forget the "religion of peace" bullshit - because that is what it is! Bullshit! Read the definition above.
There is a cult within Islam - for the 20th time and counting - called the Wahhabi - that believes that everybody should be their variety of Moslem - or dead. They are not the majority of Moslems - yet. But they are damned influential, controlling Mecca and Medina, and being the base of the Saudi dynasty, Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the Moslem Brotherhood. And they have a taste for violence.