Actor Ben Affleck appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday evening and took issue with certain comments made by Maher and co-guest author Sam Harris, according to E! Online.

“The crucial point of confusion is that we have been sold this meme of Islamophobia where every criticism of the doctrine of Islam gets conflated with bigotry towards Muslims as people,” explained Harris. “And it’s intellectually ridiculous.”

Affleck then challenged this notion, with Harris then responding that Islam is the “motherload of bad ideas.”

“[Your characterization] is gross. It’s racist,” said Affleck. “It’s like saying, ‘Oh, you shifty Jew!'”

Maher then came to the author’s defense.

“It’s the only religion that acts like the mafia,” said Maher of Islam. “That will f—ing kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture, or write the wrong book.”

The Town actor then countered that such tactics represented only a small majority of Islam.

“What is your solution? That we condemn Islam?” asked Affleck of the panel.

“There’s ISIS, there’s global jihadist. The question is the degree to which you’re willing to say, ‘Because I witness this behavior on the part of these people’ — which we all object to — ‘I am willingly to flatly condemn those of you I don’t know and have never met,'” continued the actor.

In the end, no opinions were swayed and no perspectives were altered.

Ben Affleck was on Bill Maher’s program to promote Gone Girl which opened this weekend.