"Today many of the atrociously offensive and polemical statements against the Prophet Muhammad

come from some Christian leaders who seem persuaded that in tearing down the faith of other human beings they are building up the faith of their own flock. [...] These have not been isolated episodes - they have been repeated in the most public of settings. [...] These Christian leaders are not marginal figures. They utter such statements in the most public and high-profile media outlets. If we were dealing with Muslim figures making similarly offensive comments against Christ or labeling all Jews as evil, there would be an international outrage followed by calls for the immediate removal of these figures. Likewise, one could predict the swift outcry if Falwell or Robertson had labeled Judaism as demonic or satanic. Yet when statements about Islam or Muhammad are made, the treatment is different. At best, when these Christian leaders call Muhammad a terrorist or the Anti-christ, they are seen as exercising their "free speech" rights rather than as being purveyors of hate speech. At worst, there is perhaps a nagging suspicion among some listeners that these statements contain a kernel of truth. In the beginning decade of the twenty-first century, it seems undeniable that at least some Christians (and some champions of Western hegemony) have a Muhammad problem - and thus an Islam problem.

 -Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters by Omid Safi, pgs. 2-4