Author: Susan Sachs
Publication: The New York Times
Date: June 15, 2002
A prominent Southern Baptist pastor
caused protests this week with a speech condemning American religious pluralism
and calling the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, a pedophile.
Critics said the remarks by the
Rev. Jerry Vines, pastor of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla.,
and a past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, illustrated how
hate speech against Muslims had become a staple of conservative Christian
political discourse. The speech also briefly united Muslim and Jewish groups
in outrage over what they called the Baptists' intolerance of other religions.
Mr. Vines called Muhammad a "demon-possessed
pedophile," asserting that his 12th and final wife was a 9-year-old girl,
and declared that Muslims worshiped a different God than Christians.
Speaking to fellow pastors on Monday
at the Baptists' annual convention in St. Louis, Mr. Vines said pluralism
wrongly equated all religions.
"Allah is not Jehovah," The Associated
Press quoted him as saying. "Jehovah's not going to turn you into a terrorist
that will try to bomb people and take the lives of thousands and thousands
of people."
Open scorn for Islam has become
a staple ingredient in the speeches of conservative Christian leaders since
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The Web sites of the Rev. Jerry
Falwell and the Christian Broadcasting Network, run by Pat Robertson, have
articles that purport to explain Islam. Mr. Robertson, in his television
speeches, has called Islam a religion that seeks to control, dominate or
"if need be, destroy" others.
The Southern Baptist Convention,
with an estimated 16 million members and an active political lobby, has
long provoked public protests with its views condemning homosexuality and
its open proselytizing of Jews and members of other religions.
But the attack on Islam by one of
its best-known pastors could have wider political repercussions.
"It matters a great deal, because
it's the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, and one
that is particularly politicized these days," said John C. Green, the director
of the Ray Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron.
Many in the evangelical Christian
community truly believe that Islam is wrong, Mr. Green said. They have
been uncomfortable with the Bush administration's efforts since Sept. 11
to emphasize that the United States does not consider Islam an enemy.
"Evangelicals, including the Southern
Baptists, have been very strong supporters of President Bush and he has
tried hard to appeal to them," Mr. Green said. "But at the same time, Bush
has tried hard in his foreign policy to maintain good relationships with
moderate Muslim countries."
Southern Baptist leaders defended
Mr. Vines, saying his statements were based on his research into Islam,
although many Muslims have said that his views are inaccurate.
Barrett Duke, vice president for
research for the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty
Commission, said the comments reflected Mr. Vines's personal convictions.
President Bush spoke by satellite
to this week's Southern Baptist meeting, praising the group as the "earliest
champions of religious tolerance and freedom." There was no indication
in his remarks that he was aware of what Mr. Vines had said about Islam
the evening before.
Still, civil rights groups have
called on Mr. Bush to distance himself publicly from Mr. Vines's comments.
"He should not embrace leaders whose
message is based on sowing intolerance," said Ralph G. Neas, president
of People for the American Way, a liberal lobby in Washington.
Criticism of Mr. Vines's statements
also came from the Anti-Defamation League, which has urged religious tolerance
but has also refused to work on civil rights issues with national Arab-
and Muslim-American organizations because of disagreements over the conflict
between Israel and Palestinians.
"The reason we don't stand with
the organizations is that they are hypocrites on terrorism," said Abraham
H. Foxman, the national director of the league.
Salam al-Marayati, director of the
Muslim Political Affairs Council in Los Angeles, said he was gratified
in any case for some Jewish support in protesting Mr. Vines's statement
on pluralism.
"There has been a pattern of escalating
hate speech toward Muslims, with people saying that Islam is an evil religion,"
Mr. Marayati said. "We have demanded that the administration repudiate
those comments."
Muslim groups have also argued that
actions by the Bush administration, especially those singling out Muslim
immigrants for investigation and detention, have encouraged public hostility
toward Islam.
