Jerry Vines: Difference between revisions

Vines sparked controversy in June 2002 for remarks he made at a Southern Baptist Convention conference that were critical of [[Islam]]. Referencing Ergun and Emir Caner's book ''Unveiling Islam'', Vines said that "[[Allah]] is not [[Jehovah]]… Jehovah's not going to turn you into a [[terrorism|terrorist]] that'll try to bomb people and take the lives of thousands and thousands of people," and that "[[Christianity]] was founded by the [[Virgin birth of Jesus|virgin-born]] [[Jesus Christ]]" while "Islam was founded by [[Muhammad]], a [[demonic possession|demon-possessed]] [[pedophile]] who had 12 wives, and his last one was a 9-year-old girl."<ref>[http://www.biblicalrecorder.org/content/news/2002/6_14_2002/ne140602vines.shtml "Vines calls founder of Islam a 'demon-possessed pedophile'"]. (June 14, 2002). ''[[Biblical Recorder]]''.</ref> This reference was to [[Aisha]], who is said to have been about nine when her marriage to Muhammad was consummated, according to several [[hadith]], or stories of Muhammad.<ref>For example {{Hadith-usc|Bukhari|usc=yes|5|58|234}}, said to have been narrated by Aisha.</ref> The comments stirred a brief national debate on "[[Islamophobia]]" and the demonization of Islam in relation to the [[War on Terrorism]]. Vines initially defended his comments and invited "Muslim scholars to explain their own documents to us all."<ref name="news4jax">[http://www.news4jax.com/news/1515305/detail.html "Vines: No Apology To Muslims"]. (June 17, 2002). News4Jax.com.</ref> He also refused to apologize for the statements or to meet with local Muslim leaders.<ref name="news4jax"/> He was heavily criticized, but was defended by fellow Baptist preacher [[Jerry Falwell]], who wrote a letter supporting him. Falwell was asked about the letter during a ''[[60 Minutes]]'' interview in October, and sparked an even greater outrage by declaring that he considered Muhammad a terrorist.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/03/60minutes/main524268.shtml "Zion's Christian Soldiers"]. (October 3, 2002). CBSNews.com, ''60 Minutes''.</ref> He later apologized for his comments.<ref>Hertz, Todd (October 17, 2002).