Falwell Targeted for Death

Falwell Targeted for Death

NewsMax Staff
Monday, Oct. 14, 2002

"I think Mohammed was a terrorist. I read enough by both Muslims and non-Muslims, [to decide] that he was a violent man, a man of war," Jerry Falwell said in a CBS interview last week. Now, Mohsen Shabestari, a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has fired back some rhetoric of his own, proclaiming, "The death of that man is a religious duty, but his case should not be tied to the Christian community."

The upset and shaken conservative Baptist minister apologized Saturday:

"I sincerely apologize that certain statements of mine made during an interview for the September 30 edition of CBS's '60 Minutes' were hurtful to the feelings of many Muslims," he said from Lynchburg, Virginia. "I intended no disrespect to any sincere, law-abiding Muslim."

Shabestari, addressing weekly Friday prayers in the northwestern town Tabriz, said Falwell is a "mercenary and must be killed," according to a report in the Farsi-language newspaper Abrar.

Adding his voice to Shabestari’s, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah in Lebanon on Saturday called on Muslim countries to respond to Falwell who, he said, had "infringed on the prophet [Mohammed's] dignity."

Fadlallah, however, was less bloodthirsty, advising against actual "physical violence" towards Falwell, explaining that Islam is "a religion of mercy and love."

Fadlallah has been calling for the Muslim world to fight back against "a cultural war" he maintains was launched against Islam following the Sept. 11 terror attacks. He wants all Muslim countries to call down Falwell who, he said, had "infringed on the prophet [Mohammed's] dignity."

Meanwhile, Falwell, adding to his apology, explained, "In my more than 50 years of Christian ministry, I have never preached a sermon on Islam. I have never written a book or booklet on the subject. I have always shown respect for other religions, faiths and denominations."

Since Falwell’s remarks on "60 Minutes,” angry Muslims around the world have reacted. Police report that Friday in the Indian city of Solapur violence triggered by the minister's comments had left eight dead and more than 90 injured.

The uprising in Solapur occurred when a gathering of Muslim youths demonstrated in the city to protest the remarks.

Non-Muslims are getting in on the action as well. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Falwell's comments were "outrageous and insulting."

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