‘The closer you get to Islam, the more hateful a personality you develop’

In an article based on the Channel 4 documentary In God’s Name, which examines the influence of right-wing evangelical Christianity, David Modell exposes the role of Andrea Williams and the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship in inciting hatred of Islam:

“Andrea Williams has organised a conference called Understanding Islam. The key speaker is Sam Solomon, whom she describes as an ‘authority on Islam’. She introduces him by explaining how influential he has been to her understanding of the religion. The room is the kind of place you might expect to hear a dry academic seminar, but Mr Solomon delivers nothing of the sort. He’s suddenly saying that Islam is based only on hatred. ‘The closer you get to Islam, the more hateful a personality you develop.’ He goes on to say: ‘You may think I know my [Muslim] neighbours and they are the most loving hospitable people. [But] so they were in Nigeria until the day of jihad came and they slaughtered their neighbours.’ He says Muslims are practising deception and are ‘brainwashed into accepting that we are the enemies and must be liquidated and eradicated’.”

Sunday Telegraph, 18 May 2008

Update:  Watch video here. The whole programme can be viewed here. See also the end of part 4 which covers the protest organised by Christian Voice last year against the proposed so-called mega-mosque at Abbey Mills in East London.