Falwell's Words on Islam Are ‘Not Christian,' NCC Says

October 8, 2002

NEW YORK – The Rev. Jerry Falwell's "hateful and destructive" statements about Islam and the Prophet Muhammed do not represent the views of most Christians, according to the National Council of Churches.

The council's executive committee, meeting Oct. 7-8 in New York, voted unanimously to "condemn and repudiate" statements made by Falwell during an interview with CBS-TV's 60 Minutes, broadcast on Oct. 6. The leader of the conservative Moral Majority group labeled the Prophet Muhammed a "terrorist."

Such inflammatory remarks have put the lives of Christians around the world at risk, the executive committee declared. "His statements about Islam and the Prophet Muhammed are not only factually untrue and offensive but are dangerous to the national security of every nation where Christians and Muslims are seeking a peaceful relationship," said committee members in a resolution. Such remarks "create ideal conditions for breeding terrorism among those who may not understand that he does not represent the majority of Christians or Americans."

The executive committee said Falwell also implied in the interview that he and his constituency control President Bush's policies toward Israel and Palestine. The NCC group called upon the president to "repudiate and condemn Falwell's remarks."

Representing 36 church bodies and more than 50 million U.S. Christians, the NCC leaders declared that Falwell's words were "not Christian and shockingly uninformed."

United Methodist News Service