Berry under fire for mosque bomb remark

Muslim group files FCC complaint against radio host, but conservative remains defiant

A Houston radio 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 proposal to build an Islamic center just a few blocks from the attack site in Manhattan.

On Thursday, shortly after the Houston Chronicle contacted his producer to ask about the comments, Berry posted a message on the KPRC 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.

Clear Channel, which owns KPRC and KTRH-740 AM, a sister station where Berry also appears, said it had no comment. 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 and intense. 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,” CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said.

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.”

Berry, a former Houston council member and a staunch conservative, has built much of his radio career stirring up controversy.