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Bill Maher has never been one to shy away from controversial topics, and he certainly didn’t hold back when reacting to the news that his good friend Salman Rushdie had been brutally attacked in New York.
Maher’s agent, Andrew Wylie, said that Rushdie is on a ventilator and will likely lose an eye. “The nerves in his arm were severed and his liver was stabbed and damaged. The news is not good,” Wylie said.
The suspect in the attack, 24-year-old Hadi Matar, has been arrested and identified.
Maher on the incident: “I’m guessing Hadi is not Amish. He was giving a lecture about this for irony, prior about how the U.S. is a safe haven for exiled writers and other artists under threat of persecution.
“Anyway, I know we’re not supposed to say anything critical of Islam because it’s the religion of peace. But it’s not. It’s the religion of pieces, as in, ‘I’m going to kill you if you don’t believe what I believe.
“He was attacked yesterday by an Islamic extremist in New York City. They stabbed him multiple times, they severed his nerves, they damaged his liver.”
Maher went on to slam Islam, calling it “dangerous” and saying that he believes Rushdie was attacked because of his religion.
“The bottom line is, this is not just about Salman Rushdie,” Maher said. “This is about how dangerous Islam is, and how it is a threat to free speech and free thought.”
Maher’s comments are sure to stir up controversy, but he has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind – even if it means offending people.
He continued:
“And making that speech itself is unthinkable in most Muslim countries.
“Salman Rushdie living in most Muslim countries without getting stabbed every day is unthinkable.
“So don’t come at me with ‘Islamophobic.’ Phobic means fear, right? Well, Sal had a good reason to be fearful. And when you say phobic, it’s just a way to shut off debate. You know, ‘transphobic,’ ‘islamophobic,’ we should have a debate about this.
“Sorry, but, you know, these things don’t go away. Islam is still a much more fundamentalist religion than any of the other religions in the world. And that means they take what’s in the holy book seriously.
“And that has been dangerous for a long time. It’s still dangerous. This was 1989 when he was first threatened. They say we have a long memory. We just got Ayman al-Zawahri. We were bragging about, ‘Oh, you can’t get away.’
“They have a long memory too. The idea of freedom of speech, it’s like- ‘What are you talking about? You insulted the prophet.”
Maher then went on to call out those who would label him “Islamophobic” for his comments.
“Don’t come at me with that ‘Islamophobic’ crap,” Maher said. “I’m not afraid of Muslims, I’m angry at Muslims. Angry for what they do in the name of their religion.”
Maher then called on moderate Muslims to speak out against extremism.
“If you want to show me that Islam is a religion of peace, then act like it,” Maher said. “Stand up and condemn these attacks.”
Maher ended his segment by calling on President Biden to take a stand against Islamic extremism.
“Mr. President, I know you’re trying to unify the country, but sometimes you have to take a side,” Maher said. “And the side you need to take is against these Islamic extremists. They are a threat to our way of life and they need to be stopped.”
