TX Pastor Defends Saying Islam ‘Promotes Pedophilia’

A Dallas pastor is coming under fire for claims he made that Islam inherently supports pedophilia.

In a recent sermon, First Baptist Church of Dallas Pastor Robert Jeffress said that, "the deep, dark, dirty secret of Islam" is that "it is a religion that promotes pedophilia -- sex with children. This so-called prophet Muhammad raped a nine year old girl -- had sex with her." According to TPM, that statement was given during an August 22 "Ask the Pastor" session. The question Jeffress responded to centered on the difference between Muslim Jihad and the Christian Crusades.

But while Jeffress's congregation gave him a standing ovation for his comments, some within the Dallas community didn't approve of his statement. Dallas Morning News columnist Steve blow was one of them. He devoted his entire column on Sunday to speaking out against Jeffress.

"It's hard to know where to start in expressing dismay with the Rev. Robert Jeffress –- for being uninformed, un-Christian or un-American," Blow's column begins. He continues, "Where to begin with such broad-brushed nonsense?" and believes that Jeffress comments are endangering our troops abroad by emboldening Jihadists: "Do you think it helps for a prominent pastor back home to disrespect Muhammad as 'this so-called prophet,' to refer to him and his followers as pedophiles and to proclaim all of Islam an 'evil, evil religion'?"

That same Sunday, Jeffress defended himself from the pulpit."You know, whether I am un-Christian or un-American is something you and readers have to decide for theirselves (sic)," Jeffress begins his defense. "But uninformed I am not." He goes on to explain that because he takes his job seriously, he makes sure he speaks the facts from the pulpit, and what he said about Islam "was based on facts."

"Islam does incite violence around the world," he says, and gives a recent example. He also claims that his comments about Muslim pedophilia were not in reference to this country, but rather to what is "going on around the world," a distinction he says he made clear to Blow.

"We have laws in our country that prohibit marriage to children," he said. "But in Muslim nations around the world, there are men who use Muhammad's relationship with that nine year old girl as a justification for taking child brides."

His full defense is below: