Bill Maher: Rotterdam’s Mayor Is My Hero

HBO’s “Real Time” host Bill Maher praised the Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb on Friday for his comments on Islamic extremism.

Earlier, after author Wes Moore and MSNBC contributor Josh Barro discussed the potential factors of economic and social isolation in Islamic radicalism in Europe, Moore said that “when you’re looking for people to blame…you tell people to be afraid of it and you tell people who’s to blame for it. And that’s exactly what’s happened so much throughout Europe [with “anti-immigration” pushes]” to which Maher retorted, “what happens when someone is to blame for it…Should we lie about that?”

Moore responded “No, it’s not about lying about it…I agree with David Cameron that you need to call something [Islamic terrorism] what it actually is. however, i also think that the president is right in understanding the difference between radical Islam and the radicalization of Islam.”

Maher then stated “I got a new one [hero], the Mayor of Rotterdam, he’s a Muslim, he said ‘if you don’t like freedom, for heaven’s sake pack your bags and leave.’ He said If you do not like it here because some humorists you don’t like are making a newspaper, may I then say you can f*** off.'” Maher got some pushback from Barro, who said he doubted whether “we’re likely to get a lot of positive social change in Europe out of that message.”

The discussion later turned to comments that Steve Emerson made, and later retracted, about Birmingham, England. Maher stated that while “lies don’t help,” there are numerous problems in Birmingham, and that “sometimes, in a melting pot, people don’t melt. And 10% of France is Muslim, I think 10% of Holland is Muslim, and I think they’re having more children than non-Muslims. When you get to 25% of the population, things do change, a fervent minority, we’ve seen this in our country, can change things a lot more than a placid majority. So, I don’t want to live in a world where we can’t wear a miniskirt walking down the street…you don’t have to be a right-wing nut to worry about a day when there are people like this–who, cause we know there are some Muslims who do want to take over.”

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