Bill Maher, who was criticised this week over comments he made about female genital mutilation being an Islamic problem, got into a heated row on his Friday show, culminating in the comedian shouting at Ben Affleck, “they will f*cking kill you”.
Also on Real Time was author Sam Harris, who bickered with the Gone Girl star over the influence of radical versus moderate Muslims.
Here’s a sample of the dialogue:
Harris: “We have been sold this meme of Islamophobia, where criticism of the religion gets conflated with bigotry towards Muslims as people. It’s intellectually ridiculous.”
Affleck: “Hold on — are you the person who officially understands the codified doctrine of Islam? It’s gross and racist. It’s like saying, ‘Oh, you shifty Jew!’”
Also present was journalist Nicholas Kristol and Republican politician Michael Steele – both tried to interject as Maher, Affleck and Harris went at each other.
Earlier this week American religious scholar Reza Aslan censured Maher in a CNN interview, saying the comedian’s comments about Islam were “facile”.