Insensitive Comments About 9/11

After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson made comments blaming various groups for the attack.

When asked why God would allow such an event to happen to America, Falwell said:

"And, I know that I'll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way—all of them who have tried to secularize America—I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen'."

Robertson then responded:

Well, I totally concur, and the problem is we have adopted that agenda at the highest levels of our government. And so we're responsible as a free society for what the top people do. And, the top people, of course, is the court system."

Robertson later claimed he was having problems with his earpiece at the time and had not heard Falwell's full remark before responding. Falwell later told CNN:

I would never blame any human being except the terrorists, and if I left that impression with gays or lesbians or anyone else, I apologize.

In an interview given on September 30 ,2002, for the October 6 edition of 60 Minutes, Falwell said:

"I think Muhammad was a terrorist. I read enough by both Muslims and non-Muslims, [to decide] that he was a violent man, a man of war."

The following Friday, Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari, the spokesman of Iran's Ayatollah Alin Khameini, issued a fatwa for Falwell's death, saying that Falwell was a "mercenary and must be killed," and, "the death of that man is a religious duty, but his case should not be tied to the Christian community."

During ABC's This Week, on April 30, 2005, Robertson was speaking about judicial activism when he said, "Over 100 years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that’s held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings." This statement prompted outcry from several September 11th support and survivor groups.

It is no doubt, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, who continue to make insensitive and outrageous comments, are an embarrassment and shows what is wrong with the Christian right.