Did Tavis Loose His Mind Or Just Go Crazy?

Special thanks to gcmwatch, I was able to secure a longer version of the interview.  Update 6/4/2010: See Tavis's defence below. Special thanks to Paul.

???WHAT???

Some things are just so unbelievable. This has to be a joke...right?

First Al Sharpton...now this!

Blessed!

Tavis's Defense:

Here’s Smiley’s Statement

“Since some members of the public have responded to excerpts from my conversation with the author Ayaan Hirsi Ali, I would like to clarify my point of view and the context in which that conversation took place."

“Ms. Hirsi Ali and I were talking about violence perpetrated in the name of religion or by people who claim to be religious. We agreed that there is extremism in Christianity just as there is in Islam and other faiths. We agreed that people have always found ways to use religion to justify heinous acts. Where we disagreed was that followers of any one religion are predisposed to violence. Unfortunately, history has shown us that believers of all stripes have been misguided.
“As a follower of that first-century Palestinian Jew named Jesus, I abhor violence in the name of religion. It is intolerable under any circumstances. I have always been very open about being a Christian and, indeed, for every program of my career, on both television and radio, I have always signed off with the biblical admonition to ‘keep the faith.’

“I have faith that the American public will continue to support diversity, pluralism, and tolerance, rather than finding artificial ways to divide us.”