CAIR Condemns Robertson
Assassination Remarks
Washington, DC: A prominent
national Islamic civil rights and advocacy organization has
condemned remarks made by Pat Robertson advocating the assassination
of Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez. In addition to his advocating
assassination, Robertson falsely claimed that Venezuela is
now "a launching pad for Communist infiltration and Muslim
extremism all over the continent."
"He has destroyed the Venezuelan
economy and he is going to make that a launching pad for Communist
infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent,"
Robertson told his viewers on his 'The 700 Club' show Monday.
He continued to say, "If
he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we
really ought to go ahead and do it."
In a statement, CAIR said:
"True to form, Pat Robertson
has crossed the line yet again. Not only has he advocated
violating federal law and international treaties by calling
for the assassination of a head of state, he somehow manages
to show his clear hatred of Muslims by stating that somehow
Islam is involved in the whole Venezuela issue.
"It is irresponsible that
such comments are coming from someone who self-righteously
claims to have a high religious position. American religious
leaders should be a voice of moderation and peace, not a voice
of hatred and violence. America's image is damaged by such
inciting and irresponsible rhetoric, at a time when we are
trying to demand that other countries challenge their own
religious extremists.
"We call on all religious
and political leaders to project true American values of tolerance
and pluralism by condemning Robertson and his hate speech."
Robertson has a long history
of Islamophobic remarks. In 2002, he was quoted as saying
that Islam "is not a peaceful religion that wants to
coexist. They want to coexist until they can control, dominate
and then, if need be, destroy." As recently as May 2005,
the Los Angeles Times reported him as saying that he would
be wary of appointing Muslims to top positions in the US government,
including judgeships.
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