Evangelical extremism: The parallel universe of Pat Robertson’s fatwa

You mean… take him out?

What does Venezuela have in common with the Middle East (besides lots of oil and a large mosque)? Plenty, according to televangelist Pat Robertson, who this week made a call to “take out” that country’s president Hugo Chavez. “If (Chavez) thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war,” said Robertson on his 700 Club show, adding that Chavez would make Venezuela “a launching pad for… Muslim extremism” (you know, where people threaten to kill others). Chavez has long been a stick in America’s eye for his socialist policies and coziness to Cuba. He even predicted an assassination attempt on himself after the recent failed – and US supported – coup attempt against him. As for the Muslim extremist angle, allegations of terror sympathising have been made against Venezuela for years, angering Venezuelan Muslims, who are mostly of Arab descent. Most of the claims stem from unsubstantiated reports (naturally) of spare passports distributed to Middle Easterners. As for Robertson, he later said his comments were misinterpreted. “I didn’t say assassination,” Robertson said. “August is a slow news day but it seems like the whole world is talking about my comments” (er, that’s slow month, Pat). After being reminded of his recorded broadcast, he then apologised. The Bush administration quietly distanced itself from the affair, with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissing the issue. “Private citizens say all kinds of things, all of the time,” said Rumsfeld (save that excuse for a rainy day). But with this episode set against the long history of assassinations and attempts by the US (covert and otherwise) and Robertson’s well-documented Muslim demonising, many Muslims still see double standards where the threats of a few taint them all. “If they state that Christianity does not preach the message expounded by their lunatic fringe,” says the Living Tradition weblog, “then we should remind them that we have been trying to say the same thing for the past 4 years but to no avail.”

Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com. He is based in London, England.