700 Club's Robertson: "Islam is not a religion, it is a political system ... bent on world domination"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200804090011
Summary: On The 700 Club, Pat Robertson said of Islam: "I want to say it again, and again, and again: Islam is not a religion, it is a political system meant on -- bent on world domination, not a religion. It masquerades as a religion, but the religion covers a worldwide attempt to exercise power and to subjugate the world to their way of thinking."
The April 8 edition of the Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club aired a report featuring an interview with Bernard Lewis, a Princeton University professor of Near Eastern studies, which focused on, in CBN correspondent Chris Mitchell's words, "the struggle ... between Islam and Christendom, two worldviews that contend that theirs is the one true faith." Commenting on the report, co-host Pat Robertson said of Islam: "I want to say it again, and again, and again: Islam is not a religion, it is a political system meant on -- bent on world domination, not a religion. It masquerades as a religion, but the religion covers a worldwide attempt to exercise power and to subjugate the world to their way of thinking." Robertson continued: "They want a caliphate as they had once before; they want all people to be subjected to Sharia and to live under their rules and their domination. It is every bit as insidious as communism, perhaps more so. But to say, 'Well, it's a religion, and you should leave a religion alone,' that's just not the way it works." Robertson also warned "those that don't have any faith": "[L]et me tell you what they're going to do to you will be more horrible than anything you can imagine. And you better understand that Christianity is the way to freedom and not to slavery. This other thing is the way to slavery, not freedom." Before making the comments, Robertson stated: "Well, we've been saying it, but it looks like the political correctness in our society won't let you say it. They make fun of people who speak out boldly against Islam."
As Media Matters for America noted, during the June 12, 2007, edition of The 700 Club, following a report on Muslims in Minneapolis seeking religious accommodations at school and work, Robertson stated, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have to recognize that Islam is not a religion. It is a worldwide political movement meant on domination of the world. And it is meant to subjugate all people under Islamic law." Robertson went on to state that Muslims "want to take over and we want to impose Sharia on you. And before long, ladies are going to be dressed in burqas and whatever garments they would put on them, and next thing you know, men are going to be allowed to have wife-beating and you'll be beheading adulterers and so on and so forth." Media Matters has documented other attacks by Robertson on Muslims.
From the April 8 edition of the Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club:
LEE WEBB (news anchor): Pat, Iran has announced plans to install more centrifuges at its uranium enrichment facility -- as many as 6,000 of the machines are scheduled to be operational soon. It is seen as another slap at the international community. Many believe Iran is developing a covert weapons program. The news of the centrifuges comes on its so-called National Day of Nuclear Technology, a celebration that commemorates the first time Iran enriched uranium in 2006.
Princeton scholar and best-selling author Bernard Lewis is considered by many the world's foremost authority on Islam. During a recent visit to Jerusalem, he sat down with CBN's Chris Mitchell and gave a clear assessment of the threat from radical Islam.
[begin video clip]
MITCHELL: In his 90-plus years on earth, Bernard Lewis has learned to take the long view of history, and in doing so he has a warning for America and the West.
LEWIS: The main message that I am trying to communicate is that we are engaged in a struggle comparable with the two great struggles of the 20th century against Nazism and against Bolshevism. And that it would improve our chances of winning if we understand who we are and who they are, and what it's all about.
MITCHELL: Lewis says the struggle is between Islam and Christendom, two worldviews that contend that theirs is the one true faith. And while millions of secularists in America and Europe fail to see that they're actually involved in such a conflict, the nature of the fight is crystal clear for radical Islamists like Osama bin Laden.
LEWIS: And where you have two religions with the same self-perception, the same sense of mission, the same historical background and the same geographical area, conflict is inevitable. And the conflict has been going on for more than 14 centuries; the crusade and counter crusade, and jihad and counter jihad, conquest and re-conquest, sometimes one side winning, sometimes the other side winning.
MITCHELL: When bin Laden and his fellow radicals drove the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan in the early 1980s, people in the West saw a U.S. victory in the Cold War. But the Islamists saw it as the defeat of one of two major Christian powers.
LEWIS: And now the only obstacle that remains to the worldwide triumph of Islam is the United States, so that is the next target. And that is very clear.
MITCHELL: Many Americans compare the war against radical Islam in Iraq and elsewhere with the Vietnam War. But Lewis says that's the wrong way to look at it.
LEWIS: The difference is, the Vietnamese did not follow us here, except perhaps as refugees seeking asylum. These people will, and I mean, they were already here before this happened. And if you look at their writings, particularly those of Osama bin Laden, not only has -- it is perfectly clear they see this as the final stage in the cosmic struggle between the true believers and the unbelievers and the misbelievers.
MITCHELL: What are the stakes, professor?
LEWIS: The survival of our civilization.
[end video clip]
WEBB: Wow, that's a sobering assessment. Pat.
ROBERTSON: Well, we've been saying it, but it looks like the political correctness in our society won't let you say it. They make fun of people who speak out boldly against Islam. But I want to say it again, and again, and again: Islam is not a religion, it is a political system meant on -- bent on world domination, not a religion. It masquerades as a religion, but the religion covers a worldwide attempt to exercise power and to subjugate the world to their way of thinking.
They want a caliphate as they had once before; they want all people to be subjected to Sharia and to live under their rules and their domination. It is every bit as insidious as communism, perhaps more so. But to say, "Well, it's a religion, and you should leave a religion alone," that's just not the way it works. It is a struggle, and Bernard Lewis is one of the most eminent scholars in the world on this subject. And we appreciate his clear-cut thinking on the matter. But for those that don't have any faith, let me tell you what they're going to do to you will be more horrible than anything you can imagine. And you better understand that Christianity is the way to freedom and not to slavery. This other thing is the way to slavery, not freedom -- Lee.
WEBB: Pat, consumers are flooding the Internal Revenue Service with phone calls about the upcoming rebates guaranteed under President Bush's economic stimulus plan. ABC News reporting that the IRS is receiving an extra 50,000 calls a day, that means employees are being pulled from other duties to man the phones. The agency warned lawmakers that the current tax season could mean a delay in sending out those rebate checks. Rebates sent by direct deposit are supposed to start on May 2nd and paper checks should follow on May 16th.
— D.S.
Posted to the web on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 at 08:29 PM ET
I was going to add on to the title, but I accidently hit my return key.