WASHINGTON, 24 August 2005 — A US conservative radio talk-show host said Monday he had been fired after reportedly branding Islam a “terrorist organization” in remarks slated by Muslim groups as “hate radio.” Michael Graham said bosses at WMAL-AM in Washington, owned by the Walt Disney Company, sacked him after he refused to apologize for the remarks, for which he was suspended last month pending investigation. Graham, part of a line-up of conservative talk-show hosts at the station, did not repeat his incendiary remarks, referring instead to “Islam and its tragic connections to terrorism.” He reportedly claimed last month that blame for recent acts of terrorism lay not with Islamic radicals alone but also with Muslims generally. “The problem is not extremism,” Graham told listeners. “The problem is Islam.” He also said: “We are at war with a terrorist organization named Islam.” Executives at WMAL said last month that the star host had “crossed the line.” “We do not condone his position, and we believe his statements were irresponsible,” WMAL-AM President Chris Berry said.
