On CNN, Marc Lamont Hill Slams 'Racist' Bill Maher For Views on Islam

Matthew Balan | October 7, 2014
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[More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.]

Left-wing academic Marc Lamont Hill blasted atheists Bill Maher and Sam Harris on the 6 October 2014 edition of CNN Tonight for their blunt views about the Islamic faith: "When he [actor Sam Harris] says that Islam is the mother lode of bad ideas, that is horrific; it is offensive; and, as Ben [Affleck] said...quite frankly, it's racist." Hill contended that "Islam is not uniquely violent or primarily violent or any more prone to violence than any other religion."

Anchor Don Lemon, who recently wondered if Islam was inherently violent, pointed out that Maher and Harris were also "arguing about whether liberals have failed when discussing...the treatment of women; the treatment of gays...in the Muslim...world," and asked, "have liberals failed?" Lemon later confronted his guest with the results of a 2011-12 Pew poll of Muslims from around the globe:

DON LEMON: ...There is a Pew poll...among Muslims about sharia law and what sharia law means....It says that the percentage who favor the death penalty for converts – the majority of Malaysia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt...Jordan, Palestinian territory. Many other countries don't have a majority, but they still have a large number. And so, if you look at that, it may not be the majority of Muslims, but...that's millions and millions of people. Is that a problem with religion in general, or just with Islam, Marc?

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