Actor John Rhys-Davies has blamed political correctness for West’s silence over the threat of Islamic extremism, saying he fears the end of "Western European Christian civilization."
The Welsh thespian, best known for playing Gimli in "The Lord Of The Rings," made the comments while promoting his latest film “Return to the Hiding Place,” a movie about the plight of the Dutch Jews in the Second World War.
Speaking to Adam Carolla, the actor spoke about the current threats facing the world, particularly the Middle East. He said: "Basically, Christianity in the Middle East and in Africa is being wiped out. I mean not just ideologically but physically, and people are being enslaved and killed because they are Christians. And your country and my country are doing nothing about it."
'Heaven forbid that we should criticize people who, after all, share a different value system'
The 71-year-old claimed that western civilization had lost its “moral compass,” and that “Mein Kampf,” Adolf Hitler’s autobiography, was a “bestseller in the Middle East.”
Carolla chimed in, arguing that American society had become unable to judge others. He said: "This notion that we’ve evolved into a species that’s incapable of judging other groups and what they’re doing, especially when it’s beheading people or setting people on fire or throwing acid in the face of schoolgirls... I like that kind of judging. That's evolved."
Rhys-Davies replied, saying society doesn't want to be judgmental and that we live in an "age where politicians don't actually say what they believe." He added: "Heaven forbid that we should criticize people who, after all, share a different value system."