 |
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"Add
to the thirst for blood a religion which encourages killing, and
it is entirely understandable if Americans came to this bloody
party unprepared,” said Harvey
|
WASHINGTON,
December 6 (IslamOnline.net) – A prominent U.S. Islamic civil rights
group demanded an on-air apology from syndicated radio commentator
Paul Harvey who claimed Thursday that Islam "encourages
killing".
On
mounting U.S. fatalities in occupied Iraq, Harvey commented: "Add
to the thirst for blood a religion which encourages killing, and it is
entirely understandable if Americans came to this bloody party
unprepared."
Harvey
is dubbed the most listened-to radio personality in the United States
with 24 million weekly listeners on some 1,600 radio stations in the
country and around the world.
The
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) lashed out at Harvey,
branding his remarks as Islamophobic hate-mongering.
"We
had hoped that a respected broadcast professional like Mr. Harvey
would not join the growing number of Islamophobic hate-mongers in our
society," CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper regretted.
"He
falsely attributes to Islam two things that are specifically
prohibited by our faith, murder and cruelty to animals," Hooper
said in a press release obtained by IslamOnline.net.
IOL
contacted Harvey’s office for a comment on the report but he was not
available.
Slaying
Mankind
Hooper
quoted Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, who said one of the "biggest of
(the great sins) is to murder a human being."
He
also cited verses from the holy Qur’an which states that when
someone
takes another's life, "it would be as if he slew all
mankind".
On
animal cruelty, Prophet Muhammad underlined that: "A woman was
punished [by God] because of a cat. She had neither provided it with
food nor drink, nor set it free so that it might eat the creatures of the earth."
In
another tradition related by the Prophet, a man was rewarded by God
for helping a thirsty animal. The man, who had just climbed down a
well to get water for himself, saw a dog panting and licking mud
because of excessive thirst.
He
went down the well again and filled his shoe with water for the dog.
God rewarded him for that deed and forgave his sins.
After
relating that story, the Prophet was asked: "Is there a reward
for us in serving animals?"
He
maintained: "Yes, there is a reward for serving any (living
being)."
Hooper
also cited the Qur’an, which says: "There is no beast that
walks on earth and no bird that flies on its two wings that is not [God's]
creature. Unto their Sustainer shall they [all] be gathered."
Bad
History
In
1999, Harvey issued an on-air apology to Muslims for remarks
suggesting that Islam was a "fraudulent religion".
The
apology came after hundreds of concerned Muslims called, faxed and
e-mailed both Harvey's office and that of ABC Radio Networks, his
program's syndicator.
Harvey,
a lecturer at conventions and organization meetings all over the
States, had received eleven Freedom Foundation Awards and has been
elected to the National Association of Broadcasters' Radio Hall of
Fame and the Hall of Fame in his native state of Oklahoma.
In
1996, U.S. News & World Report editor-in-chief Mortimer Zuckerman
also claimed the Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, had a "doctrine" of
deceit in making treaties with enemies while he was weak and violating
them when he was strong.
In
the magazine's June 24, 1996, issue, this claim was retracted.
In
October, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence William Boykin backtracked
on earlier claims that Islam’s God is an "idol", saying
the remarks had been "taken out of context."
TO
Listen To Harvey’s, Go to: http://www.paulharvey.com/
Click on the Thursday noon program. The section with the offensive
quote begins at 6:53. The quote itself begins at 8:25.
