[VIDEO] What Went Down In The Ben Affleck Vs. Bill Maher Debate On Islam
Actor Ben Affleck's heart may be in the right place, but well-researched facts and statistics may very well be stacked against him in the Islam debate aired on the Real Time With Bill Maher talkshow, on 3 October.
By Samantha Khor — 07 Oct 2014, 12:48 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
Ben Affleck's appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher took a heated turn when he got into a disagreement about Islam with host Bill Maher and guest Sam Harris, author of Waking Up, A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
Affleck, who was promoting his new movie Gone Girl, participated in a round table discussion that included Bill Maher, Sam Harris, former chair of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele, and NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.
The debate ensued when host, Maher and writer, Harris contended that liberals have failed to openly condemn Islam for their stances on women's rights and LGBT issues. "It's intellectually ridiculous," Harris said.
According to Harris, "Liberals have failed on the topic of theocracy. They'll criticize white theocracy, they'll criticize Christianity. They still get agitated over the abortion clinic bombing that happened in 1984."
"We can criticise Christians but when you want to talk about the treatment of women, homosexuals and free thinkers in the Muslim world, liberals have failed us. We've been sold on this meme of Islamophobia, where criticism of the religion gets conflated with bigotry toward Muslims as people," he continued.
At that, the actor slammed Maher and Harris for their overly broad and negative view of Islam, calling it "gross", "racist", and "disgusting". Affleck also likened their generalisation of Muslims to radical stereotypes of homosexuals, Jews and African-Americans.
He added: “How about more than a billion people who aren’t fanatical, who don’t punch women, who just want to go to school, have some sandwiches, pray five times a day, and don’t do any of the things you’re saying of all Muslims. It’s stereotyping.”
theguardian.com
In response, Harris unpacks his points to Affleck by highlighting three circles within the Muslim world: the violent jihadists, the Islamic reformers, and conservative Muslims
In the heated debate, Sam Harris argues that 20% of the Muslim world are Muslims who “wake up wanting to kill apostates” and “force their religion on the rest of humanity” through the government.
Harris added, "But outside of that we have conservative Muslims who say that 'ISIS does not represent us, that we are horrified by that'. But they hold views about human rights and about women and about homosexuals are deeply troubling. These are not Islamists, these are not jihadists. They also keep women and homosexuals immiserated in those cultures. And we have to empower the true Muslim reformers in the world to change it."
Panelist Michael Steele then defended Affleck, saying that moderate Muslim voices do not receive as much coverage as radical ones, to which Maher responded by comparing Islam to the Mafia
Maher said, "One reason they (other views) don't get exposed is because they are afraid to speak out. Because it's the only religion that acts like the Mafia. That will f***ing kill if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture or write the wrong book."
nydailynews.comMaher's statement did not sit well with Affleck, who retaliated by saying, "What is your answer? Is it just to condemn Islam?"
"Yet somehow we are exempt from these things. Because they are not really a reflection of what we believe in," he then said sarcastically, "It was by accident, that's how we invaded Iraq. I am explicitly telling you that I disagree with what you think."
malaysiandigest.com
On the homefront, Malaysians are seen lauding Affleck for standing up for Muslims in the debate
Baguslah Ben Affleck pertahankan Islam. He sure has come a long way since that time he debated Hooper X & denied Star Wars is racist.
— Nazim Masnawi (@nazim_masnawi) October 7, 2014
Kudos to Ben Affleck to stand up for us Muslim who were not there to defend ourselves. It's unfair for them to have a one sided argument!
— Shakinah Jailany (@shakinahjailany) October 5, 2014
Respek!! http://t.co/fpjjjoD8Vw pic.twitter.com/2Ip21uRhRP
— beautifulnara (@beautifulnara) October 7, 2014
While Affleck's impassioned stance is undoubtedly convincing, some are of the opinion that Harris' points, which are backed by well-researched facts and statistics, makes for a more compelling argument
Affleck has been involved in political activism for many years, sparking rumours of a senate run in 2012. He has also testified before a Senate panel in support of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
More recently, the Hollywood A-lister made waves in Washington when he testified before a Senate panel in support of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He would quickly earn the respect of then-Senator John Kerry.
eonline.com