HBO’s “Real Time” host Bill Maher declared comparing Islamic terrorism to the Oklahoma City bombing is “a false equivalency.” And stated, “I don’t think there are any Christian groups that trying to obtain a nuclear weapon” on Friday.
After saying that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s statement that President Obama seemed madder at him than the shooter, Maher stated that he wished there would be more focus on the terrorists first. He added, “Now, of course it’s wrong when any Muslim American is given a dirty look, asked extra questions, but it’s not the same as people getting shot.”
After former advisor to Colin Powell, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (Ret.) brought up the Oklahoma City bombing, Maher responded, “Sir, that is a false equivalency.”
Later in the discussion, Business Insider Senior Editor Josh Barro said, “I think Americans are already alarmed enough about terrorism. It is a statistically really unlikely mode of death. People should be more worried about…whether they eat too much.” Maher cut in, “Except, they are trying to get a nuclear weapon and I don’t think there are any Christian groups that trying to obtain a nuclear weapon, sir.” He further stated, “No one is saying that the only bad things happen in the Muslim world, we are saying, I am saying, lots of people…that there — you have to go where the preponderance of it is. And there is no doubt that it — that most of it happens in this sphere.”
Maher later argued, “Hillary Clinton said this week, freedom-loving Muslims. Well, this is what Bush — this was his mistake, to think, all people in the world want to be just like us. I don’t know if freedom, as we think of it, is the same way they think of it.”
After actor Ravi Patel brought up Muslims in the US, Maher responded, “In America, that’s three million out of 1.6 billion. Exactly. In America.” Maher further argued that Muslims should be free from his prior description of the way Muslims think of freedom, “but shouldn’t the other ones be included in it. Shouldn’t the liberals in this country stand with all those people who have to face what I call everyday terrorism?”
Wilkerson then brought up Indonesia, to which Maher stated, “You know what? In Indonesia, if a woman wants to join the military she has to undergo what they call the two-finger test. [Maher then held up two fingers] They put that in her … They want to see if she’s a virgin, and this is the moderate country that they hold up as an example.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.