HOUSTON—Michael Berry, a former City Council member, apologized for his comments, but criticized the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has filed a complaint against him.
A Houston talk show host this week called for the bombing of a mosque if it’s built near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City.
In comments Wednesday on KPRC-950 AM, Michael Berry said, "I’ll tell you this — if you do build a mosque, I hope somebody blows it up." Berry added: "I hope the mosque isn’t built, and if it is, I hope it’s blown up, and I mean that."
The remarks came in an angry exchange with a caller who insulted Berry and said Muslims should be able to build mosques wherever they want. They were discussing a pending proposal to build an Islamic Center just a few blocks from the attack site in Manhattan.
On Thursday, shortly after the Chronicle contacted his producer to ask about the comments, Berry posted a message on a Houston TV station’s website describing the caller as "belligerent" and adding "I did NOT advocate bombing any mosque."
He did not return a message through his producer seeking comment and later said on his radio show that he would not talk to reporters.
In a statement it issued Thursday, Clear Channel, which owns KPRC, said, "Michael Berry has admitted that his comments regarding a proposal to build a mosque in New York near the site of the former World Trade Center were inappropriate, and he has apologized for those comments on air and in his blog."
Clear Channel also owns KTRH-740 AM, a sister station where Berry also appears.
The manager of the two stations did not return a phone call.
Berry devoted a large portion of his Thursday show to discussing his comments, alternately appearing apologetic and then defiant. He spent much of his time lambasting the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights organization that first distributed Berry’s comments to reporters and said it had filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission.
"I apologize to you, my listeners, for insulting your intelligence and saying something so stupid. I do not apologize, however, for my opinion that that mosque should not be built," Berry said. He said his bosses had been supportive of him.
National reaction from civil rights groups was swift. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said the talk show host should be disciplined.
"We would like to see some action taken by his employer. If we call directly for his firing, then we’re accused of censorship and stifling his free speech," said CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper.
Dena Marks, a Houston-based Anti-Defamation League spokeswoman, said: "This type of language really has no place in our society. It doesn’t advance anything. In fact it muddies the water."
In reaction to Berry’s comments, The Council on American-Islamic Relations has filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission.
"I think this hate against this mosque comes from the idea that Islam is the problem and Islam committed the attack on 9/11, which is not true at all," said Rafi Khan of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Berry, a former Houston City Council member and a staunch conservative, has built much of his radio career stirring up controversy.
Earlier this year, he embraced the cause of a Klein Collins High School student who threw away a Mexican flag hung up for Cinco de Mayo. That caused the school to be inundated with phone calls from angry conservatives.
During his Thursday show, Berry seemed to express some concern that he could be booted off the air, but he said he could live with it:
"If that means I have to go off the air because I have an opinion that offends them, then that’s what that means."
This story was brought to you courtesy of khou.com ‘s partnership with The Houston Chronicle.
