Posted on 05/04/2011 2:39:18 PM PDT by mdittmar
SEATTLE, May 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) today said that a coalition of some 60 interfaith and community leaders has asked Everett Community College in Everett, Wash., to drop an Islamophobic speaker scheduled to appear Thursday as part of an "Islam in America" lecture series.
CAIR-WA Commentary: EvCC Event Could Undermine Clear Understanding of Islam (Daily Herald)
The speaker, Raymond Ibrahim, writes frequently for a blog published by a leader of Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA), which was recently designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
SEE: Active Anti-Muslim Groups
http://www.splcenter.org/node/3502/activegroups
In a letter sent to Everett Community College President Dr. David Beyer, the coalition of Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Latino, Asian-American, and civil rights leaders stated in part:
To read the entire letter and the list of signatories, go to:
http://www.cair.com/Portals/0/pdf/evccletter.pdf
"We are a coalition of local faith and community leaders who are gravely concerned about Everett Community College's invitation to Raymond Ibrahim to speak on campus on May 5, 2011, as part of the EvCC Humanities Center's year-long 'Islam in America' series. . .
"Everything Mr. Ibrahim has done in his career seems to have the single-minded focus of portraying Islam and Muslims as evil, deceitful, conspiring to take over the world, and, at minimum, feeding the perpetual questioning and mistrust of their presence in the West. Mr. Ibrahim's goal appears to be to spread hate, and to convince others to hate and fear Muslims as much as he does.
"We fully support freedom of speech. However this is a case of privileged speech where Everett Community College has invited, promoted via online and print media as an 'expert,' and otherwise plans to provide an audience and a platform to Mr. Ibrahim on college property, using college resources. . .
"This not simply a political issue between liberals and conservatives, it is an issue of grave concern for all people in this country. Because Islamophobia has a profound impact on each of us, our families and our communities, we call on Everett Community College to meet the standards of all public institutions of higher learning which is to operate with integrity in the best interest of the larger community. . .
"By issuing Mr. Ibrahim an invitation, giving him an audience, and in any way providing him a platform, Everett Community College is complicit in inflaming a tinder box of hate and violence against Islam and Muslims, and is abusing its public trust as a federally funded educational institution. Therefore, we urge the College to cease its promotion of bigotry and hate speech by rescinding its invitation to Raymond Ibrahim to speak on campus."
CAIR publishes a "Challenging Islamophobia" pocket guide, which offers tips on dealing with anti-Islam rhetoric on the Internet, in the workplace and in schools and universities. The guide also offers advice for challenging anti-Muslim views espoused by public figures.
SEE: CAIR 'Challenging Islamophobia' Pocket Guide
CAIR-WA recently coordinated a panel discussion at Everett Community College as part of the college's lecture series. Some 150 panel attendees, many of whom had to listen to the panelists' presentations in an overflow room, asked questions about a variety of issues relating to Islam and Muslims.
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational
Subscribe to CAIR's E-Mail List
http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe
Subscribe to CAIR's Twitter Feed
http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR's YouTube Channel
CONTACT: CAIR-WA Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari, 206-367-4081 or 206-931-3655, E-Mail: abukhari@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, or 202-488-8787, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com
SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations
“Islamophobic”. That’s objective.
Textbook example of how Libs destroy their enemies. SPLC puts out a baseless, purely partisan report on "hate groups" that include legitimate anti-amnesty and anti-PC groups (such as groups that don't want American law to codify the more barbaric elements of Islam). Then CAIR uses that report as third party verification that this speaker is part of a "hate group" to silence him. No one digs into whether the designation is right or not--its good enough for lazy and complicit MSM journalists to know that SPLC designated him as part of a "hate group" to push the storyline.
“which was recently designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.”
When you are one you imagine everyone else is too.
doesn’t the suffix “phobic” mean “an irrational fear”?
I think having your head removed from your shoulders by a rusty knife by a group that has a history of that type of behavior is a rational fear, not an irrational fear.
Seem to remember FR was called a hate group once;)
SPLC was recently designated a hate group by Free Republic.
I would like to extend my thanks to the domestic jihadi in CAIR. Until I read of their attempts to shut down his talk I had not heard of Raymond Ibrahim. Did a search and bookmarked some of his work for later reading. Thanks for the tip.
That’s right. And I think I’ll start calling them “freedomophobic,” or “lifeophobic.”
“Seem to remember FR was called a hate group once;)”
Proves my point. FR is not a hate group because it doesn’t imagine everyone else is a hate group. When we call them one they really are one.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.