FLASHBACK: Ben Affleck Melts Down Debating Islam With Sam Harris And Bill Maher: "That's Gross And Racist"

This is from an October 3, 2014 episode of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher that is related to Sam Harris' appearance on this week's broadcast of the show.





"Thank god you're here," Affleck said sarcastically.



"We have been sold this meme of Islamophobia, where every criticism of the doctrine of Islam get conflated as bigotry against Muslims as people. It is intellectually ridiculous."



"So are you the person who understands the officially codified version of Islam?" asked Affleck. "You're the interpreter of that?"



"You're saying that Islamophobia is not a real thing?" Affleck asked.



"I'm not denying that certain people are bigoted against Muslims," Harris said. Earlier in the program, Harris and the host had debated self-loathing liberals who have "allied" with Muslims against the West.



"That's gross," Affleck said. "It is racist. It's like saying you're a 'shifty Jew.' You guys are saying: 'If you want to be liberals, believe in liberal principles, like freedom of speech...' "



"We have to be able to criticize bad ideas. Islam at this moment is the motherlode of bad ideas," Harris said.



"Jesus Christ!" said Affleck. "That's not a fact, that is an ugly thing to say."



"How about the more than a billion people who aren't fanatics, who don't punish women," he asked. "You're stereotyping," he said. "You're painting the whole religion with a bad brush."