Posted on 10/17/2002 9:45:04 PM PDT by Sweet_Sunflower29
James N. Campbell said he was exercising freedom of speech when he confronted a Muslim graduate student Monday outside the University of Tennessee's Hodges Library.
Campbell, who takes a few free classes under a program for senior citizens, was arrested by a UT police officer after the officer witnessed the white 60-year-old man yelling "ethnic slurs and threatening comments" at Sean Blevins after the pair walked inside the library.
Cited for disorderly conduct, Campbell has a city court appearance and is banned from UT properties. Campbell's court appearance is at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 4, at Knoxville City Court.
"He (Campbell) declined our repeated directives to calm down and otherwise cooperate," wrote university police officer Steve Nelson in his report. "His actions were causing alarm to others in the immediate area."
Blevins, 26, who is also white, wears a beard. He had on a black suit and a matching kufi, a bowl-shaped cap.
Campbell, a retired Air Force veteran, said, "I don't have good feelings about these people (Muslims) dating back to 1979. I did three tours in Turkey and two tours in Saudi Arabia."
"This Muslim cleric was walking up the hill at the same time as I was and as we walked toward the door I recognized his Muslim clothes as a priestly frock," said Campbell. "I am thinking to myself, 'What's this young man doing on my campus?' I see this fella, and I am instantly inflamed."
Blevins is not a Muslim official or religious teacher.
"He (Blevins) has this beard on, a scraggly little beard on his face. I said to him, 'In Turkey, Atatuerk would have had that beard shaved off'."
The late Mustafa Kemal Atatuerk, founder of the Turkish Republic and its first president, led social reform that included bans on wearing religious attire in public.
Campbell is barred forever from coming onto any UT properties, said UT Police DepartmentChief Ed Yovella.
Muslim students said while the incident does not indicate widespread local hostility against their faith, the event "brought to the attention of the MSA the real and serious threats that face Muslims in America," said Muslim Student Association president Sanjana Ahmad.
;-)
Yet another confused young man.
Won't happen in my area under my watch.
I'm a pretty recluse guy, but their track record is not one that I will allow in my area.
Was in a discussion with some of my Saudi trainees. We were killing time and trading juvenile cut downs. I asked one Saudi if the corn flakes got in his eyes from the cereal bowl on his head. Lucky for me he didn't know what I was talking about, or I could have lost my job. Had a bad mood that day.
We watched what we said there. One of our guys in another shop was in an exchange with some Arabs about Islam in Europe and voiced the opinion that muslims shouldn't be that far East. He was kicked out of that shop and was almost sent packing. Some powerful people went to bat for him. He even agreed that if he wasn't Hispanic, he would have been gone.
Those are "unhappy" thoughts...let's not go there! Yes, we are a nation of sheep sent up to slaughter on behalf of our 3rd World Loving Goverment and the interests behind it. Islam is a "Religion of Peace"...LOL.
I only see half of the story in this article. It gives the impression that Campbell was the only one saying anything and the muslim was a "poor innocent victim". I'd like to know more before I form an opinion on this, especially with the anti American/Christian slant in the media these days.
The article states: Cited for disorderly conduct, Campbell has a city court appearance and is banned from UT properties. Campbell's court appearance is at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 4, at Knoxville City Court.
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