Very interesting POV. Harini Calamur (TV producer, film maker, writer & teacher) writes:
When Osama asks for Bush and Blair’s head – he is a nasty terrorist.
But, when Pat Robertson, the founder of Christian Coalition and a former Presidential candidate and someone who makes our rabid right wingers seem like flower power children – calls for the assasination of democratically elected Venezualan president Hugo Chavez – I am sure that he would be reflecting the patriotic sentiments. This is what he said
You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war … and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop.”
Incidentally, the Christian Coalition is one of those entities that screams loudest about the sanctity of life !
It would be interesting to see the Bush Administration bring charges of ‘encouraging terrorism’ on Robertson. But, it will probably be shrugged off as free speech.
Which leads us to an interesting verb conjugation
My country has freedom of speech
yours has rabble rousers
and his incites people to commit terrorist acts.
{ 17 } Comments
This guy is every bit of a nut as Osama bin laden. People might say that he isnt setting off bombs, but why does he need to? He has the ear of the President of the United States. Robertson is a well respected man at the Whitehouse.
Now I guess we should call for all Christians to stand up and demonstrate against his remarks? How about religious rulings from various Christian leaders to say that him and his 4-5 million followers do not represent Christianity?
Hope I don’t get misunderstood, but the Christian media will find him a million excuse and million followers will justify what he said.
Of course I don’t believe that existing wars have anything to do with religion of any kind (from all side). It’s all about power and money!
Marxism was right. 'Religion… is the opium of the people'. And that’s how it is used today, being a crusade war, or Jihad, all hide their terrorist acts behind religion.
Welcome to the Planet of the Apes. And that's just the tip of the ape-iceberg…
You are right Haitham. The problem is here in the USA there are millions who think just like him.
Yesterday, one of the major US TV networks (ABC) did a story about Robertson's remarks. They said they tried contacting most of the major conservative religious leaders in America asking for comments, but none of them would offer a comment. Several liberal Christian groups did issue rebukes against Robertson, as did Muslim and Jewish groups. But the Christian religious right essentially remained silent. If they had any decency, they would have stood up and said that Robertson's comments were hypocritical and enciteful. But that's politics for you. :-(
One bit of good news was that the US blogosphere was almost 100% against Robertson. On CNN, one reporter said she could only find one blog all day that was in support of Robertson. I'm sure there were probably a few others, but the vast majority of us blogging about it yesterday lambasted him in no uncertain terms.
Pat Robertson is a jerk and an idiot and he is full of hot air. I don't know anyone who takes him seriously, morally or theologically.
At least, as a Jew, I don't need to feel responsible for him. That's a relief. (There are plenty of Jews who are jerks, too, and I feel a twinge every time one is quoted in the news; at least Pat Robertson is coming from a different religious tradition than I am…)
Abu Sinan, as an evangelical Christian, I will now stand and shout PAT ROBERTSON AND JERRY FALWELL DO NOT REPRESENT ME NOR ANY BELIEVER I KNOW AT ANY CHURCH I ATTEND. They need to shut up, retire to Florida and stop shaming those of us who actually own this label with much more dignity than they do.
The conservative Christian blogosphere I read was unanimous in lambasting him as Andy Carvin quoted. Sadly, most of us un-newsworthy evangelicals are too busy feeing the poor, sheltering the homeless and encouraging the depressed to organize big rallies like the so-called Christian Coalition does.
Rachel, thanks for the reminder that there are jerks everywhere. Too bad they seem to attract the media more than the people who truly represent.
I think that there is a complete hypocrisy about the way the media attacks Muslims. If this had been an Imam who had issued a fatwa the world would be screaming "the muslims are here, hide". Even though a fatwa is simply a direction and not a directive. There is either complete maliciousness or total laziness when it comes to covering Islamic issues. And, I am not sure whether it is the fault of the leaders/spokespersons of the Muslims – in that they are unable to explain issues clearly and concisely, or whether it is laziness/maliciousness on the part of journalists who don't want to grasp facts.
I am not a muslim, but a Hindu. Terrorsim in the name of Islam has cost us in India much more than it has cost the west – yet there was a time when the Governments of USA and UK excused that very same terror – caused by the very same terrorists – in the name of "self governence". They gave refuge and support to the same terrorists that they are trying to hunt down now. And there is a certain irony in this whole thing. But, in addition to the irony there is hypocrisy sorrounding the entire victimisation of over a billion Muslims in the world.
When an extreme Christian or Hindu or a Jewish fundamentalist (and there are enough of them – calls for death and destruction in the name of the allmighty -s/he is a marginalised nutcase who doesn't have anything to do with the mainstream.
When Osama – who is a nutcase – screams – then he represents all Islamdom. Nobody even mentions the fact that Osama is Sunni, wahabi, and so marginal when it comes to mainstream Islam that is completely irrelevant. That is the equivalent of a Mormon or a Scientologist representing all of Christiandom.
This monolithic representation of religious faiths or nationalities – when most of us are not homogenous cultures or religions – leads to making a threat seem even bigger than it is. How much media representation do you get in explaining the fact that Islam has multiple streams that doesn't always agree on the same thing. In INdia – the majority is Shia, then there are Sunnis, Sufi's , Bahai's, Ismailis', imami's, zaidis, Ahmediyas etal. Even amongst Sunnis the wahabi's are a minority. So what are we talking about?
By all means hunt down terrorists and destroy terrorsim. But, in that process don't offend, humiliate and insult people so much that you create sympathy & support for madmen.
Kinzi said:
Actually, that's not what I said. I said the blogosphere in general was universal in lambasting him. In contrast, every national-level Christian conservative leader contacted by ABC News refused to comment at all. Some later came out and said, "Pat's apologized, we should accept it and move on." That hardly sounds like they condemned his remarks…. -andy
The question we all should be asking here is, "Are you going to feed the monster of confusion and become a member of the mass hysteria by jumping onto one side or another, which leads to fanaticism, or are you going to try and make some kind of sense out of the information you have been given and allow it to help you bridge your knowledge into wisdom?"
When we close our minds to the knowledge placed before us, choosing to become offended rather than enlightened, we take a step closer to becoming like those being damned in these blogs. Is it your desire to feed the fire of injustice or subdue the powers of evil?
What Pat Robertson said was completely idiotic, to say the least, but can't you see you are contributing to the radicals and encouraging an attitude of blind opinion by making more out of it than it is. He DID NOT say, "Kill Chavez", he made a stupid comment within a statement that showed us he used "poor judgement in his choice of words" and is thereby not quite as perfect as he would like us to think he is. But please use your minds and your good judgement and call the guy an idiot as he should be called. None of us are perfect. "Let he is who without sin cast the first stone."
Don't incite radical thinking, invite common sense.
Rachel, if you ever listen to Pat Robertson, he feels that as a Christian, he knows what is best for you and the rest of the Jewish people. As a matter of fact, you'll be hard pressed to find a more fanatical Zionist that Pat Robertson.
What has bothered me for some time now is how certain elements of the Jewish world will ally themselves with these people. Sure, they give money and political support to Israel, they also believe that when Jesus comes you will all have to convert or go to hell. Their self appointment mission is to bring the world to an end, with the epi-center of all of the destruction to be Israel itself. How could a Jew support such a person?
I have seen Jews trying to justify such support based on the idea that they need the support now and that the ends justify the means. I dont buy it. Christians of Robertsons ilk are very intolerant. They are inly supporting Jews and Israeli because they want to use them for their purposes. Ask any of Robertson's or other evangelical Christian Zionists and they will clearly tell you that all Jews are going to hell unless they accept Jesus. With a belief like that how can any Jew think that these people want the best for the Jewish people are for Israel?
Sorry, Andy, I meant to agree with you on the blogosphere in general and ADD that the other Christian blogs I read blasted him as well. I don't read ABC news, so I don't know who these others are.
Abu Sinan, I read in the JT today that this man has 863,000 regular viewers. Where did you get 4-5 million followers? Is that a mailing list?
I think chavez is off his meds.
No matter what some of you "good guys" are saying that Pat Robertson does not represent the average good peace-loving Christian, I still feel there is a great deal of Robertson in Donald Rumsfeld.
It's exactly actions like this that are a TOTAL turn off of religion to me. In my opinion it's all about power and who's got the most. It reminds me of two imature school kids squabling over who's dad is the strongest.
President Hugo Chavez is responsible for countless human rights violations. He is currently holding many political prisoners, all of whom were imprisoned by the Venezuelan government on trumped-up charges in cases with manifest due process violations.
If you are interested in this issue you should check out
http://www.TellChavez.com
{ 5 } Trackbacks
Bushyland : Pat Robertson's Fatwa
The US politico-televangelist and conservative Christian Pat Robertson this week suggested on-air that the USA should simply "assasinate" the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez…- NY Times… The US democracy is en route !…
Upset by Pat Robertson's Remarks
Some bloggers from Tunisia, Kuwait and Jordan are upset by the remarks (or Fatwa, as Mohsan called it) made by Pat Robertson's, the founder of Christian Coalition. Pat calls for the assassination of democratically elected Venezuelan president Hu…
[...] ia, Jordan, Kuwait Global Roundups Some bloggers from Algeria, Kuwait and Jordan are upset by the remarks (or Fatwa, as Mohsan called it) made by [...]
[...] the Bush Administration bring charges of ‘encouraging terrorism’ on Robertson." (Via Sabbah's Blog.) U.S. based Indian-born blogger Arnab digs up [...]
[...] the Bush Administration bring charges of ‘encouraging terrorism’ on Robertson." (Via Sabbah's Blog.) U.S. based Indian-born blogger Arnab digs up [...]