Liberals are tolerant when it comes to every splinter group under the liberal umbrella but if you’re a liberal who criticizes one of those groups, you risk becoming the victim of  a significant amount of intolerance. Such is the case with far left-wing liberal atheist comedian Bill Maher, who is currently being ostracized by far left-wing liberal students at the University of California at Berkely for his criticism of Islam.

On top of that, Maher is being labeled a racist and a bigot by Muslims at Berkeley who want the University to withdraw his invitation to speak at the University in December.

An online petition by Khwaja Ahmed – a Muslim – opens thusly:

The students at the University of California at Berkeley represent a diverse array of students from all walks of life. Every semester a commencement speaker is given the privilege of inspiring a class of talented and capable students. This year, UC Berkeley has chosen to invite Bill Maher to speak. Bill Maher is a blatant bigot and racist who has no respect for the values UC Berkeley students and administration stand for. In a time where climate is a priority for all on campus, we cannot invite an individual who himself perpetuates a dangerous learning environment. Bill Maher’s public statements on various religions and cultures are offensive and his dangerous rhetoric has found its way into our campus communities. Too many students are marginalized by his remarks and if the University were to bring this individual as a commencement speaker they would not be supporting these historically marginalized communities. It is the responsibility of the University of California to protect all students and uphold a standard of civility. Sign this petition to boycott the decision to invite Bill Maher as a commencement speaker at the UC Berkeley Fall 2014 Commencement Ceremony.

Below that opening stanza are excerpts of Maher’s comments on Islam that Ahmed finds problematic. You can read them all here but there are two that are particularly interesting. They are:

“Islam is the only religion that acts like the mafia that will f**king kill you if you say the wrong thing.”

In the case of Ahmed, he’s advocating mafia tactics of banning Maher for saying the wrong thing (irony is always lost on liberals).

This quote Ahmed had a problem with is noteworthy:

“Dealing w/ Hamas is like dealing w/ a crazy woman who’s trying to kill u – u can only hold her wrists so long before you have to slap her.”

We’re confused about that one. It’s not known if Ahmed has a problem with Maher ripping Hamas or slapping ‘a crazy woman’ who’s in the process of committing murder.

Maher has been critical of Islam for some time but until recently had largely gotten a pass because A.) He champions so many liberal causes; B.) Rips Christianity more than most and; C.) Hasn’t made it his mission to target Islam incessantly.

That appears to be changing. The current backlash against Maher all began earlier this month when he and his guest were so critical of Islam that another guest – Ben Affleck – was sent into orbit. Affleck’s reaction possibly contributed to the viral nature of the segment more than anything else. As Shoebat.com reported, one of the reasons Affleck is so defensive about Islam is because he considers Muslim Brotherhood-linked Huma Abedin to be a “good friend” and contributes part of the success of one of his movies – Argo – to Abedin’s help at the State Department.

In any event, here is the segment that started it all:

Round 2 came on October 24th when Maher, admittedly reluctant to engage in the debate again (presumably because of how divisive it became) did so anyway. In fact, while the theatrics were not as compelling, Maher and professed Marxist Cornel West debated the issue of Islam. As was the case with Affleck, Maher came out on top. However, a consequence may be more of what is happening to him courtesy of Berkeley. Here is Maher’s exchange with West:

[CLICK ON IMAGE TO WATCH VIDEO]