Franklin Graham: Obama 'Giving Islam A Pass,' Persecution For Believing In Jesus Christ 'Coming'

Rev. Franklin Graham, the evangelical minister who was disinvited from a Pentagon prayer service after concerns arose regarding his past offensive comments about Islam, is now accusing President Obama of "giving Islam a pass."

In an interview with Newsmax Television, Graham was asked if he though there was a "pattern of hostility to traditional Christianity by the Obama administration."

"I don't know if it's exactly from President Obama," Graham responded, "but I'm certain that some of the men around him are very much opposed to what we stand for and what we believe."

Graham continued, "It seems as though Muslims are getting a pass"

Rev. Graham was then asked by the host about mounting "secular oppression" in the United States.

"No question, it's coming," Graham says. "I think when you preach that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the light, I think we're going to see, one day, people will say this is hate speech."

The reverend described his removal from the Pentagon prayer service program as "a slap at all Evangelical Christian."

Graham also expanded on his viewpoint of Islam:

"I don't believe Muhammad can lead anybody to God," Graham said. "I love Muslim people and I care for them very much and I want Muslims everywhere to know what I know -- that Jesus Christ died for their sins."

Graham is now scheduled to take part in the congressional National Day of Prayer event on Capitol Hill on May 6.

Watch a clip of the interview:

Comments

[MARYHOBE]

12:45 PM on 05/15/2010

I saw a story this morning on the Iranian cleric who talks of earthquakes and promiscuity! And now this from the lapsed thinker Reverend Franklin! Proves that no one has an exclusive right to be intolerant and stupid. I liked Reverend Franklin a lot more when he questioned in the 60's rather than now, now that he has all the answers!

[David Charles Deller]

04:56 AM on 05/13/2010

Many religions can at times be labeled "evil" - Christianity, [nationalist} Hinduism, others too perhaps.

My question is: Why does Islam get a pass for the violence and conquest that date from virtually the 1st generation of that faith?

After "pacifying" Arabia - Muslims tried to conquer everyone within reach - Syria, India, Egypt, North Africa, Spain.... One teaching identified in the Qran is "If no one fights with you, [or "resists,"] don't fight them." But what sense does that make when you are showing up on everyone's door with an army? Instigating conflict?

I
I just heard a Muslim apologist exclaiming the great tolerance, and "protection" granted to religious minorities by Islam. But obviously, you cannot "protect" someone who is not under your control, whom you have conquered. And there is so often this claim if Islam as a "religion of peace." This is clearly historically inaccurate, obvious from the behavior of Muslims from their earliest days.

Last question: Is anyone able to imagine that Jesus and any of his followers would engage in such actions - subjugation of others? Later nations ["Christian"] justified this, but it cannot be traced to the faith's actual founders, nor their descendants, for hundreds of years.

In fact, I can think of no other religion that was nurtured, from inception, with this aggressive subjugation of others - far predating the Crusades, of course. I can't imagine anyone wanting to follow a precedent like that. I cannot.

But why does it seem forbidden to

[Manhajsadiqeen]

09:52 AM on 05/16/2010

You have brainwashed by American historical education! The Muslims drove out the Romans and Persians who had ruled Arab lands for centuries. When Islam came about, converts returned to their Kabile (villages, tribe, etc) only to be crucified by Romans and tortured by the Persians. The Muslim army under Khalid Ibn Alwalid did away with all they persecution by throwing the Romans out and back inot present day Turkey and driving out the Persians too once and for all. Those turncoat Arabs who joined in with the Persians and Romans were given choices and many choose Islam others were enslaved and while others were killed. American history is so inaccurate that it has traditional display Blacks, Native Americans and Islam in a negative light while boosting the exploits of White Americans.

[David Charles Deller]

09:00 AM on 05/17/2010

First of all, I'm sorry for any offense. That's not the intention, and I asked the question with real trepidation - but wanted get some kind of answer.

I make no apologies for what Americans have done; I highly disapprove of it myself and I am highly critical of it. I could provide ample evidence of that.

As for the rest - I might assume after the Persians surrendered Arab lands, they were invaded and conquered because they remained a real threat to Arabs?

But what about the others invaded - India, North Africa, Spain, into France? What is the justification for all that?

Again, I'm sorry if this is offensive. But those are just honest questions, or observations. I would very much appreciate it if you can help me to more fully understand them.

Thank you.

[nhunter]

03:43 PM on 05/12/2010

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

[captric]

01:10 PM on 05/12/2010

Ancient Pagans as early as 600 BC believed in various levels of divinity, with miraculous powers, coming down and going up to its home in the sky. Divine beings cared about people, listened to and answered their prayers and gave them the power to prophesy. Even gave them a better deal in the eternal life that comes after death.
Christianity is the belief that some cosmic Jewish Zombie can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him that you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree.
It is a clear fact that ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, at LEAST 3000 years before Jesus, shared standard ideas about Gods and their powers and place in the universe and Christianity simply adopted those ideas, and applied them to Jesus.

[reverence]

05:43 PM on 05/11/2010

Clearly his public statement was one to obviously one made in an effort to bring attention to himself and his chosen faith. He knew he would have to be disinvited for making it, because the United States is not engaged in a religious war. Yet another religious leader only intereseted in personal power and attention.

[okami]

09:55 AM on 05/11/2010

Instituting a day of prayer was one of the worsst decisions ever made.

[Liberty1967]

03:08 PM on 05/10/2010

After years of having the evangelical dominionist agenda backed and furthered by the Bush junta, accountability must be cold water in the face. Deal with it.

[inthenameofBOB]

12:18 PM on 05/10/2010

"I think when you preach that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the light, I think we're going to see, one day, people will say this is hate speech."

No, we don't think it's hate speech, we just don't want "your" beliefs shoved down our throats, and inserted into our laws. KEEP IT TO YOURSELF.

[Lahonda]

12:32 AM on 05/08/2010

Persecution for not believing in Jesus "in the correct manner" has been with us for centuries.

Today's righteous right would be asking him for his papers.

[Jimcracky]

09:47 AM on 05/07/2010

Dear Franklin, I am sorry your feelings were hurt by your disinvitation to the Pentagon. However, you must learn to distinguish disagreement with your frankly odious statements from persecution of the Christian faith. You are not Christianity. In fact, a good many Christians would question whether your stance even represents mainstream Christian thought. Please rein in your ego, for the sake of your soul.

[Daniel Roberts]

02:48 AM on 05/07/2010

I think the Christians are afraid of the brutal retribution that might be awaiting them. Once they're the minority, what's going to stop them from being persecuted like they persecuted religious minorities for centuries. Of course, the fact that we have laws in this country to protect religious minorities like Islam and Judaism! These people are nuts. Then again, they'd have to be to believe half the stuff written in the bible.

[okami]

10:01 AM on 05/11/2010

the problem is that it's a small vocal group of Christians doing this. The moderates don't speak out enough. We expect moderate Muslims to speak out against their extremists, but we won't practice what we preach.
although--to be honest--the Catholics in this country have spoken out against the evangelicals on several fronts. Just because their church is being run by pedophiles doesn't mean their believers are lost, too.

[abraham12]

11:01 AM on 05/06/2010

What puzzles me about western christians like myself is how we use parts of the bible to attempt to prove our superiority over other relegions.How can a man who is as educated about relegion speak such lies like muslim people dont believe in the same god as we do when he knows abraham had two sons ishmael the oldest and isaac the youngest god told abraham according to the bible that ishmael will start a great nation (islam) why do western and European christian ignore and lie about this when it is the word of god.Jewish people(isaac) dont even believe in jesus yet we cater to their every demand.Shame on you Franklin Graham and may god have mercy on your soul.remember these same christians justified slavery by using GOD

[granto2]

09:41 AM on 05/06/2010

this man is so not his father. christians in america face think that anytime an intelligent individual disgarees with them, or their often hateful and exclusive ideology, they are being attacked. if my fellow christians would take half of the energy they expend in being offended, defensive, and trying to do God's job for Him, we would be ever so much closer to peace and the walk we as christians are supposed to have learned from the very book that is used to persecute and judge. franklin graham has fallen for the very thing that Christ warned the pharisees about.

[Emily Farrer]

06:27 AM on 05/06/2010

Why are Christians in America so afraid of persecution? Is it like a way of deferring attention away from all the people that they discriminate against on a daily basis, and have done since people starting following that cool cat in the white robes?
Now some day in the far-off future, even when most people have come to their senses and realised ALL religion is a farce, I highly doubt future society would PERSECUTE Christians who still believe, espousing publicly or otherwise. After all, we don't persecute people with intelligence handicaps and low IQs, do we? No, we accommodate them and they live relatively normal lives.
This guy is living in the Middle Ages, not just because of his antiquated beliefs but because he still thinks that religious persecution is something that happens on a regular basis in liberal democracies such as the US. Most of all, he seems to be confusing actual persecution - like what Protestants faced under the reign of Bloody Mary in England (burning, stoning, torture, whatnot) - with people simply not giving a damn anymore, not thinking high-up religious folk such as himself deserve special privileges, and not having influence within government as the religious right did under W. Bush.

[Liberty1967]

03:12 PM on 05/10/2010

At the level of Franklin Graham, they are not afraid of persecution. They are so dug into the national power structure that they have nothing to worry about. They are a little worried about not being able to force their practices on the rest of the US -- legally, educationally, medically -- and so they use this lie to scare their foot soldiers into a more and more paranoid and manipulable state. It's also good for their coffers.

[Martha12]

05:45 PM on 05/05/2010

In 1783, the president of Yale College, Ezra Stiles, cited a study showing that "Mohammadan" morals were "far superior to the Christian."

Another New Englander believed that the "moral principles that were inculcated by their teachers had a happy tendency to render them good members of society."

The reference here, as other commentators made clear, was to Islam's belief, which it shared with Christianity, in a "future state of rewards and punishments," a system of celestial carrots and sticks which the Founding generation considered necessary to guarantee good social conduct.

http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0205/tolerance.html