It was a product of the Reagan-Bush era and the televangelical bully pulpits that were as corrupt as hell, and what Muslims got up to was more or less irrelevant and on the other side of the planet.

Have you seen Steve Martin's "Leap of Faith" yet? That's based on that chernobyl-water salesman, Peter Popoff, mostly.

And yes, I do think "snake-oil salesman" should totally be updated to "chernobyl-water salescritter".