Robertson on Sharon

(First posted early 2006)

The American evangelist Pat Robertson's
comment recently that Ariel Sharon
(who suffered a massive stroke on 4 Jan 2006)
was struck down by God in revenge for having
forced through the withdrawal from Gaza, which
to evangelists like Robertson is holy Jewish land
until the end of time, is strikingly revealing about
religion in America today.

The Christian Right has massive political
influence in America and their leaders are close
to the Bush administration. Millions and millions
of Americans who call themselves born-again
Christians or evangelicals helped to secure a
second term for Bush. Also, Robertson has
recently openly called for America to assassinate
Venezuela's democratically elected leader Hugo
Chavez, just because he strongly dislikes the US
and has the courage to speak his mind about it.

What is the difference between this and the Fatwa
issued by the late Ayatollah Khomeini against
Salman Rushdie for his novel The Satanic Verses
which, in parts at least, is indisputably deeply
offensive to Islam??

The mindset displayed by Robertson & Co is just
as intransigent fundamentalist as their Muslim
counterparts around the world, which the
evangelicals so loathe and hate.
Maybe a case of: It takes one to know one?