Stop Islamization of America

Stop Islamization of America
Abbreviation SIOA
Formation 2010 (2010)
Location
President
 Pamela Geller
Co-founder
 Robert Spencer
Website freedomdefense.typepad.com/sioa/
Formerly called
 American Freedom Defense Initiative

Stop Islamization of America (SIOA), also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative,[1] is an extremist,[2] far-right[3] American organization known primarily for its Islamophobic advertising campaigns.[4] It describes itself as a "human rights organization dedicated to free speech, religious liberty and individual rights."[5] The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) lists SIOA as a hate group.[6]

SIOA was founded in 2010 by its current leaders, Pamela Geller and author Robert Spencer, at the request of Anders Gravers Pedersen, the leader of Stop Islamisation of Europe, of which it is the American affiliate.[1] It has launched ad campaigns in urban public transit systems, including one in New York City opposing Park51, a Muslim community center that had been proposed for Lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center site in 2010.[7]

Ideology

The SIOA's ideology has been called Islamophobic.[8][9][10][11]

History

2010

SIOA first entered the public eye with its early opposition to the construction of Park51, originally named Cordoba House, a 13-story Muslim community center proposed for a location two blocks from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. On May 6, 2010, Geller posted a blog piece calling the building a "monster mosque" and a "stab in the eye of America" and comparing it to the reconsecration of the Hagia Sophia as a mosque by the Ottoman Turks after they conquered Constantinople in 1453.[1] In another blog post Geller encouraged readers to protest its construction.[1][12][13]

In July 2010, the organization purchased bus advertising in New York and other American cities promoting a website purporting to advocate for Muslims who wanted to disclaim their religion but who feared they might be killed by other Muslims if they did so.[14] The Council on American-Islamic Relations criticized the premise of the ads, that there were any such Muslims, calling it "a smoke screen to advance [Geller's] long-standing history of anti-Muslim bigotry".[15]

The Anti-Defamation League, beginning in 2010, included SIOA in their online resource on extremist groups, saying that it "promotes a conspiratorial anti-Muslim agenda under the guise of fighting radical Islam" and "seeks to rouse public fears by consistently vilifying the Islamic faith and asserting the existence of an Islamic conspiracy to destroy 'American' values."[16]

2011

In 2011, the Southern Poverty Law Center named SIOA an anti-Muslim hate group,[17] calling it a "propaganda powerhouse" that paints moderate Muslims as radical terrorists.[6] Geller described the SPLC listing as a "badge of honor"[18] and later, in 2015, stated to CNN, "Who designated the SPLC as a legitimate authority? They are a radical leftist group who targets patriots, vets and even GOP presidential candidates. They have never named a jihadi group as a hate group."[19]

In July and August 2011, Geller and Spencer were discussed in the media because Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik's anti-Muslim manifesto quoted Spencer at length, and also cited Geller's blog.[20] According to Heidi Beirich, Deputy Director of SPLC, Geller and Spencer's writings were "the primary sources for the anti-Muslim propaganda that had helped give voice" to Breivik's 1500+ page manifesto.[7] SIOA published a statement jointly with Jihad Watch and Stop Islamisation of Europe condemning Breivik's attack.[21]

2012

In 2012, SIOA sponsored ads in the public transit systems of New York City, Washington, D.C., and Chicago reading, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad."[22] The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) initially refused to display them.[23] The authority's decision was ruled unconstitutional by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in July 2012. Judge Engelmayer held that SIOA's ad was "core political speech" protected by the First Amendment.[23][24][25][26][27]

Rabbis for Human Rights, the Sojourners Community, and United Methodist Women all sponsored subway ads to countering SIOA's original ad and promoting religious tolerance.[28] The Jewish Council for Public Affairs called SIOA's ad "bigoted, divisive, and unhelpful", and Steve Gutow, its president, said, "The fact that ads have been placed in the subway attacking Israel does not excuse the use of attack ads against Muslims."[29] William McGurn, a former for George W. Bush, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal supporting the ads, arguing that "savage" was an appropriate term to describe jihadists, and criticizing "our new political correctness".[30]

During the 2012 tax year, the organization reported total revenue of $157,870.00, no employee salary or compensation, and total operating expenses of $296,044.00.[31]

2013

In early January 2013, the SIOA placed advertisements in New York City subway stations. that juxtaposed images of the September 11 attacks with a quote from the Quran: "Soon shall we cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers."[32][33] By that time the New York City Transit Authority, had changed its advertising policy to accept what it called "viewpoint advertisements" but to require a disclaimer saying that the Transit Authority did not endorse the advertiser's views.[34]

During the 2013 tax year, the organization reported total revenue of $958,800.00, employee salary and compensation at $243,150.00, with total operating expenses at $419,652.00.[35]

2014

In response to an ad by the American Muslims for Palestine that the SIOA called "Jew-hating", the SIOA sponsored an ad on Washington, D.C., buses with a photograph of Adolf Hitler and Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who supported the Nazi dictator before and during World War II.[36]

In May, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was not required to grant SIOA a trademark registration for its name because it could be disparaging to American Muslims. Geller criticized the ruling, calling it a "complete whitewash" and describing the court as having a politically correct bias.[37]

2015

In 2015 the SIOA started a new ad campaign in New York, that included one parody billboard with a quote from Hamas stating 'Killing Jews is worship that draws us close to Allah.'[38] A court judgement in April 2015 ruled that New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority cannot prevent the ads from running on buses.[39][40]

In January 2015 a Muslim group organized a fundraiser called "Stand With the Prophet in Honor and Respect" at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas.[41] Pamela Geller spearheaded about 1,000 picketers at that event.[42][43] The Garland Independent School District board president Rick Lambert said in January, "The Culwell Center is available for rental as long as you comply with the law. Because it is a public facility, the district is not allowed to discriminate based upon viewpoint."[43][44]

Garland shooting

On May 3, 2015, the SIOA invited Geert Wilders to an art exhibit in Garland, Texas that offered a $10,000 prize for the best cartoon of Muhammad. During the event, a shooting incident occurred.[45] Both gunmen were shot and killed by police shortly after the suspects shot a security guard.[46]

The SIOA says it spent $10,000 on security, and had 40 police officers and private security guards present.[47] The event was hosted at the Curtis Culwell Center, rented from the Garland Independent School District, which hosted an event in January called "Stand with the Prophet".[48]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Barnard, Anne; Feuer, Alan (October 10, 2010). "Outraged, And Outrageous". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Moon, Timur (June 20, 2013). "EDL Invites US Anti-Muslim 'Hate Bloggers' Pam Geller and Robert Spencer to Speak at Woolwich Rally". International Business Times. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  3. ↑ Ivanova, Mina (2013). "A Stab in the Eye of America or a Center for Multi-Faith Dialogue? Ideology and Contested Rhetorics Surrounding the Proposed Muslim Community Center near New York City's Ground Zero". In Clarke Rountree. Venomous Speech: Problems with American Political Discourse on the Right and Left. ABC-CLIO. p. 360. ISBN 9780313398674. Geller heads a small but vocal extreme right-wing group, called Stop Islamization of America. cf. note 4 (p.374) SIOA is associated with Stop Islamization of Europe, an organization with branches in nearly a dozen countries (mostly in Western Europe), founded by an eponymous Danish group that opposes immigration of Muslims to Europe.
  4. ↑  • Ernst, Carl W. (2013). "Introduction: The Problem of Islamophobia". Islamophobia in America: The Anatomy of Intolerance. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1137290080.
  5. ↑ "About Stop Islamization of America". Stop Islamization of America.
  6. 1 2 Steinback, Robert (Summer 2011). "Jihad Against Islam". The Intelligence Report (142) (Southern Poverty Law Center).
  7. 1 2 Beirich, Heidi (2013). "Hate Across the Waters: The Role of American Extremists in Fostering an International White Consciousness". In Ruth Wodak, Majid KhosraviNik, Brigitte Mral. Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse. A&C Black. pp. 89–92. ISBN 1780932456.
  8. ↑ Ernst, Carl W. (2013). "Introduction: The Problem of Islamophobia". Islamophobia in America: The Anatomy of Intolerance. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1137290080.
  9. ↑ Kumar, Deepa (2012). Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire. Haymarket Books. p. 179. ISBN 1608462110. ...the other leading sources of anti-Muslim racism are... Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer's Stop Islamization of America...
  10. ↑ Davidson, Lawrence (May 2011). "Islamophobia, the Israel Lobby and American Paranoia: Letter from America". Holy Land Studies 10 (1): 87–95. doi:10.3366/hls.2011.0005.
  11. ↑ Rice, Stephanie (July 28, 2010). "'Anti-Islamic' bus ads appear in major cities". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 31, 2012. In the Bay Area, more than 125 religious leaders of various faiths signed a statement in July denouncing the ads as "Islamophobic"
  12. ↑ Elliott, Justin (August 16, 2010). "How the "ground zero mosque" fear mongering began". Salon.
  13. ↑ Gottschalk, Peter (2012). "Religion Out of Place: Islam and cults as perceived threats in the United States". In Gershon Shafir, Everard Meade, William J. Aceves. Lessons and Legacies of the War on Terror: From Moral Panic to Permanent War. Critical Terrorism Studies. Routledge. pp. 111–112. ISBN 0415638410.
  14. ↑ Rice, Stephanie (July 28, 2010). "'Anti-Islamic' bus ads appear in major cities". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  15. ↑ "'Leaving Islam?' bus adverts draw anger in NYC". Telegraph (London). May 27, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA)". Extremism. Anti-Defamation League. September 14, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  17. ↑ Siemaszko, Corky (February 25, 2011). "Southern Poverty Law Center lists anti-Islamic NYC blogger Pamela Geller, followers a hate group". New York Daily News.
  18. ↑ "Pam Geller On 'Hate Group' Label: 'A Badge of Honor'". Talking Points Memo. 1 Mar 2011.
  19. ↑ "Garland shooting: What is the American Freedom Defense Initiative?". CNN. May 4, 2015.
  20. ↑ Shane, Scott (July 24, 2011). "Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S.". The New York Times.
  21. ↑ Nathan-Kazis, Josh; Guttman, Nathan (August 5, 2011). "U.S. Critics of Islam Vow To Continue Activism After Oslo". The Forward. A statement published on July 25 on Jihad Watch, by Spencer and Geller 's SIOA and Stop Islamisation of Europe, their group's European ally, condemned the attacks. The statement went on to say that Breivik had attempted to join SOIE, but had been kept out of the organization 'because of his Nazi ties.'
  22. ↑ "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/15/cta-anti-muslim-ads-contr_n_2136432.html". Huffington Post. November 15, 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2014. External link in |title= (help)
  23. 1 2 "Controversial 'Defeat Jihad' ad to appear in NYC subways". CNN. September 19, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  24. ↑ Flegenheimer, Matt (September 18, 2012). "Ad Urging Defeat of Jihad to Appear in New York Subway". The New York Times.
  25. ↑ Ted Mann (July 20, 2012). "Court Rejects MTA's Ban Against 'Demeaning' Transit Ads". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  26. ↑ Weiser, Benjamin (July 20, 2012). "M.T.A. Violated Rights of Pro-Israel Group, Judge Says". The New York Times.
  27. ↑ "Anti-jihad ads make their way to D.C. subways". CNN. October 10, 2010. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  28. ↑ Masood, Ashwaq (October 4, 2012). "Pro-Muslim Subway Ads to Hang Near Anti-Jihad Ads". New York Times.
  29. ↑ "JCPA Condemns Bigoted, Divisive, and Unhelpful Anti-Muslim Ads". JCPA. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  30. ↑ McGurn, William (October 1, 2012). "Call a Terrorist a 'Savage'? How Uncivilized". Wall Street Journal.
  31. ↑ "American Freedom Defense Initiative, Tax Form 990." (PDF). GuideStar. 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  32. ↑ "More Ads With Inflammatory Messages About Islam Appear In NYC Subway". CBS news. January 8, 2013.
  33. ↑ Epstein, Emily Anne (December 7, 2012). "New Anti-Islam Ads to Debut This Month, Now With 25% More MTA Disclaimer". The New York Observer. Retrieved February 28, 2014. The quote is from 3:151
  34. ↑ Flegenheimer, Matt (Dec 13, 2012). "Controversial Group Plans More Ads in Subway Stations". New York Times.
  35. ↑ "American Freedom Defense Initiative, Tax Form 990." (PDF). GuideStar. 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  36. ↑ Paul Duggan (May 15, 2014). "In Metrobus ads, pro-Israel group features photo of Hitler". Washington Post.
  37. ↑ Bartz, Diane (May 13, 2014). "U.S. court says trademarks can't disparage religious, ethnic groups". Reuters. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  38. ↑ "'This is a war': The woman behind anti-Islamic Muhammad cartoon contest and her long history of hatred". The Daily Mail (London). 4 May 2015.
  39. ↑ Miller, Michael E. (22 Apr 2015). "'Killing Jews is Worship' posters will soon appear on NYC subways and buses". The Washington Post.
  40. ↑ "Posters slamming Islam for 'killing Jews' can be displayed on MTA buses: court". New York Daily News. 21 Apr 2015.
  41. ↑ Chasmar, Jessica (January 18, 2015). "'Stand With Prophet' event in Texas draws thousands of protesters". The Washington Times. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  42. ↑ Merchant, Nomaan; Stengle, Jamie (May 3, 2015). "City: 2 gunmen killed outside Muhammad cartoon contest". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  43. 1 2 "As graduations near, some fear Garland ISD's Culwell Center now a target". The Dallas Morning News. May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  44. ↑ "Islam debate returns to Garland ISD's Culwell Center with Muhammad art event". The Dallas Morning News. April 27, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  45. ↑ "Police: Men killed in Garland shooting had assault rifles, body armor". dallasnews.com.
  46. ↑ Stack, Liam (May 3, 2015). "Gunmen Killed After Firing on Anti-Islamist Group's Event in Texas". New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  47. ↑ "Garland shooting: 2 killed after they open fire at Mohammed cartoon event". CNN. May 4, 2015.
  48. ↑ Chasmar, Jessica (2015-01-18). "'Stand With Prophet' event in Texas draws thousands of protesters". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2015-09-04.

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