Robertson: "Osama bin Laden may be one of the true disciples of the teaching of the Quran ... because he's following through literally word-for-word what it says"

Summary: Pat Robertson said that "Osama bin Laden may be one of the true disciples of the teaching of the Quran ... because he's following through literally word-for-word what it says," adding: "Islam is not a religion of peace. No way."

On the August 29 edition of the Christian Broadcasting Network's (CBN) The 700 Club, host Pat Robertson said that "Osama bin Laden may be one of the true disciples of the teaching of the Quran ... because he's following through literally word-for-word what it says." Robertson added: "Islam is not a religion of peace. No way." Robertson made his remarks when he answered a letter from a viewer that asked, in part, "What's the difference between Islam and the 'radical Islamic extremists?' " The author of the letter also stated that he read "parts of the Quran on the Internet" and therefore did not "believe" that "Islam is a religion of peace." Robertson agreed, noting Islam "doesn't mean peace, it means submission."

Media Matters for America has documented numerous attacks by Robertson on Muslims. For example, on the May 23 edition of The 700 Club, Robertson said "Islam is essentially a Christian heresy" that "picked up snippets of the Gospels" and other biblical texts and is now taking "everything that Jesus said" and "transport[ing it] into this fictional Mahdi," a savior figure in Islam. On the April 28 edition of the The 700 Club, Robertson referred to Islam as a "bloody, brutal type of religion." On the April 24 edition of The 700 Club, Robertson warned his viewers that "we are not listening" to what Islam "says," just as we did not listen to "what Adolf Hitler said in Mein Kampf." Robertson claimed that we are ignoring the threats by "not only the radical Muslims but Islam in general," because "it is not politically correct to believe that any religious group would do what they claim they are going to do." On March 13, Robertson declared that Muslims who protested controversial cartoons of the prophet Muhammad were "satanic" and "crazed fanatics" who were "motivated by demonic power," adding that "the goal of Islam ... is world domination."

From the August 29 edition of the Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club:

TERRY MEEUWSEN (co-host): [Reading viewer letter] This is David, who says: "Some Muslims say that Islam is a religion of peace. But I don't believe that. I've seen parts of the Quran on the Internet that tell Muslims to 'kill all unbelievers.' What's the difference between Islam and the 'radical Islamic extremists?' Do you believe we're fighting a war with Islam?"

ROBERTSON: David, the truth is is that Islam means submission -- that's the term. It doesn't mean peace, it means submission. And according to the Quran, the world is divided into two parts. It's dar al Islam and dar al harb. The part that is Islam is submitted to Islam. The other part is at war. That's what the Quran teaches. Dar al harb is the land of war, so the United States is the land of war because we haven't submitted to Islam. And so, this religion spread from its early founding across North Africa and into Europe and, ultimately, around the Mediterranean by the sword. Didn't you see what happened to those two Fox newsmen? They said, "We want you to convert," and they put a gun to their head and they said if you don't convert we're going to blow your brains out. So, I mean -- but that's the way it was. You convert at the point of the sword. That's what Muhammad said, if you find an unbeliever and if he will convert and give alms and let him go in peace, and if not, you're to kill him. That's what the Quran says. So are these extremists something aberrational from the Quran? I'm not sure they are. I would think Osama bin Laden may be one of the true disciples of the teaching of the Quran but you know because he's following through literally word-for-word what it says. Others have taken it and said, "Well, look, this just doesn't square with the modern world and so we must live in peace, and so we don't want to do that kind of thing." But if you go back to the Wahhabi, understanding, and seeing what the mullahs are preaching in the various mosques, it is hate, hate, hate, hate. You know, kill the infidels. I'm sorry, that's just the way it is. But Islam is not a religion of peace. No way.

—K.D.