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You mean\u2026 take him out?<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

What does Venezuela have in common with the Middle East (besides lots of oil<\/a> and a large mosque<\/a>)? Plenty, according to televangelist Pat Robertson, who this week made a call to \u201ctake out\u201d that country\u2019s president Hugo Chavez. \u201cIf (Chavez) thinks we\u2019re trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it. It\u2019s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war,\u201d said<\/a> Robertson on his 700 Club show, adding that Chavez would make Venezuela \u201ca launching pad for\u2026 Muslim extremism\u201d (you know, where people threaten to kill others). Chavez has long been a stick in America\u2019s eye<\/a> for his socialist policies and coziness to Cuba. He even predicted<\/a> an assassination attempt on himself after the recent failed \u2013 and US supported \u2013 coup attempt against him. As for the Muslim extremist angle, allegations of terror sympathising<\/a> have been made against Venezuela for years, angering Venezuelan Muslims<\/a>, 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<\/a>. \u201cI didn\u2019t say assassination,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cAugust is a slow news day but it seems like the whole world is talking about my comments\u201d (er, that\u2019s slow month, Pat). After being reminded of his recorded broadcast<\/a>, he then apologised<\/a>. The Bush administration quietly distanced itself from the affair, with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissing<\/a> the issue. \u201cPrivate citizens say all kinds of things, all of the time,\u201d said Rumsfeld (save that excuse for a rainy day). But with this episode set against the long history<\/a> of assassinations and attempts by the US (covert and otherwise) and Robertson\u2019s well-documented Muslim demonising<\/a>, many Muslims still see double standards<\/a> where the threats of a few taint them all. \u201cIf they state that Christianity does not preach the message expounded by their lunatic fringe,\u201d says the Living Tradition weblog, \u201cthen we should remind them that we have been trying to say the same thing for the past 4 years but to no avail.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/p>\n

Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com. He is based in London, England.\n<\/p>\n

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