Fresh off the back of sparking outrage over his comments on Islam in a heated row with Ben Affleck and Sam Harris, Bill Maher has gone head-to-head with our very own former foreign secretary, David Miliband.
Appearing on Maher's Friday night Real Time show, Miliband eloquently stepped in when the presenter brought up the recent story of a Christian mother-of-five who has being sentenced to hang for blasphemy in Pakistan after a squabble with her work colleagues over a drink of water.
Referring to the incident, Maher sarcastically brought up his spat with Affleck saying, “so, yeah, Sam Harris and I were way off on that.”
READ MORE: Bill Maher, Ben Affleck And Sam Harris In Heated Row About Islamophobia And Radical Islam
Warning Maher to be "careful," Miliband swiftly demolished the US comedian's reactionary argument by reasoning: "It's one thing to take on a religion, the other is to take on the people abusing the religion."
"Those are two very different things," Ed's brother stated as the audience clapped and cheered.
Maher and Miliband – along with fellow guests American Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Republican Barbara Lee, political commentator David Frum and American journalist Joel Stein - also discussed a wide range of topics, from Britain leaving the EU, to gun crime in the states.
The panel also got into a fierce debate over the current Ebola crisis in the states, with Miliband expressing his surprise over “bastion of liberal rationalism” Maher's stance on the topic.
“One guy comes here from Liberia — one guy,” Maher said. “And we couldn’t keep that contained, because those morons in that f**king hospital in Dallas."
“I’m not panicked,” Maher said, according to Raw Story. “I’m just pissed.”
Miliband dismissed the idea called for by commentators like Donald Trump, who have insisted on a travel ban against West African nations.
“If you want to guarantee that there’s an epidemic that kills a million people in West Africa, have a travel ban,” Miliband said. “The truth is, we need more flights of aid workers, health workers, into West Africa to help remedy the situation.”
Maher who was recently criticised over comments he made about female genital mutilation being an Islamic problem, previously got into a heated row with Hollywood star Affleck, which explosively culminated in the comedian shouting “they will f*cking kill you” at the Gone Girl star over the influence of radical versus moderate Muslims.
Here’s a juicy 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!’”
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