Robertson: Islam is a "Christian heresy," Jews are "very thrifty, extraordinarily good business people"

Summary: On The 700 Club, host Pat Robertson said "Islam is essentially a Christian heresy" that "picked up snippets of the gospels," and other Biblical texts and is now taking "everything that Jesus said" and "transport[ing it] into this fictional Mahdi." Robertson also perpetuated Jewish stereotypes in a discussion about the need for Israeli soup kitchens, stating that "When you think of Jewish people, you think of successful businessmen" who are "very wise in finance and who are prosperous." Robertson later added that "[i]t shocks people" to find out "there's poverty in Israel," because "Jewish people" are "very thrifty" and "extraordinarily good business people."

On the May 23 edition of the Christian Broadcasting Network's (CBN) The 700 Club, host Pat Robertson said "Islam is essentially a Christian heresy" that "picked up snippets of the Gospels" and other Biblical texts and is now taking "everything that Jesus said" and "transport[ing it] into this fictional Mahdi," a savior figure in Islam.

Robertson also expressed "shock[] ... that there's poverty in Israel," stating that '[w]hen you think of Jewish people, you think of successful businessmen" who are "very wise in finance and who are prosperous." He also said that "Jewish people" are "very thrifty" and "extraordinarily good business people." He then declared his "stunned disbelief" that "a country as rich as Israel" could suffer from poverty.

From the May 23 edition of the Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club:

ROBERTSON: Is the nation of Iran getting ready for Armageddon? Iran's president believes Allah has chosen him to prepare the world for the coming of an Islamic savior called the Mahdi.

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But you know, the truth is, ladies and gentlemen, it's been said years ago that Islam essentially is a Christian heresy. They picked up snippets of the Gospels, picked up snippets of the Ten Commandments, the Pentateuch, writings of Moses, Abraham. You go back, you find many, many references to Moses, many references to Abraham, many references to the true Christian message. And here you've got everything that Jesus said that is true being transported into this fictional Mahdi. But to think there's a man now in charge of a government with nuclear weapons that is willing to bring about the chaos that is necessary to fulfill what he believes is important. And yet, is he having some perverse view of what actually is going to happen? Well, Jesus told us there will be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, diseases, famines, pestilence. We were told before he comes back that there's going to be tidal waves and signs in the heavens. We know this is going to happen, but not for some Mahdi. Ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here, and it will give you a chance to understand how important Jesus is. I would recommend that you get your Bible, read the 13th chapter of Mark, read the 21st chapter of Luke, read the 24th chapter of Matthew. See what really is going to happen.

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When you think of Jewish people, you think of successful businessmen. You think of people that are very wise in finance and who are prosperous. And when you think of poor countries around the world, you'd never would consider the nation of Israel. But in parts of the Jewish nation, poverty is growing at an alarming rate. Watch this.

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