Our suspicion was that CAIR etc. wanted to pack the events with their own people and thus attempt to further entrench the hate-speech-averse, anti-profiling, and anti-”Islamophobic” culture in the federal bureaucracy.
Fortunately for us, Vigilant Freedom had an operative in place at the second seminar, which took place in Tampa two days ago. Here are some excerpts from the report by Tampa Pirate:
The DOJ held a Religious Freedom Seminar today here in Tampa and I was lucky to be able to attend. It was also attended by lawyers, pastors, concerned citizens, CAIR-FL and a representative from the Islamic Society of Tampa. The topics discussed were:
- Religious Discrimination in Education
- Religious Discrimination in Employment
- Religious Discrimination of Institutionalized Persons
- Religious Discrimination in Land Use, Housing and Equal Credit Opportunity
- Criminal Statutes Protecting Individuals From Religious Hate Crimes and Interference With Religious Exercise.
- Reporting of Hate Crimes
Tampa Pirate then goes on to give an account of the speakers, and the subsequent question and answer section of the seminar.
- - - - - - - - - -
After the Q&A and a short break we started the last two sections. The presenter was Mark Kappelhoff, Chief Criminal Section USDOJ Civil Rights Division, who has dealt with some very difficult cases of civil rights violations. However during the presentation he cited a few cases of civil rights violations and those were white skinhead on Jew and whites on Muslims. He also spent a lot of time discussing the sensitivity in the DOJ to Muslims and retaliation against Muslims post 9/11.
During the Q&A after the final two sections I pointed out to Mr. Kapplehoff that since 9/11, 31 non-Muslims have been killed and 25 injured by Muslims on U.S. soil. The victims were mainly Christians and a couple of Jews and they were killed by Muslim snipers primarily yet none of these cases gets any media attention with the exception of the Virginia sniper attacks. I sighted numerous cases, and pointed out that many times crimes against white Christians are not viewed as hate crimes. He confirmed that hate crimes can be committed against any race and any religion.
Mr. [Ahmed] Bedier [the Communication Director for CAIR] brought up the problem with hate crimes against Muslims and inflammatory comments against Muslims and Islam, and what can be done about them. Mr. Kapplehoff replied that hate crimes are viewed as serious to the DOJ, but that statements made may be offensive to some, but do not constitute hate crimes. A few minutes later Mr. Kilic asked a follow up question concerning hate speech, and he spoke about local area blogs and in particular Right-Wing Howler’s site that was shutdown after CAIR went after HostGator because of a tongue-in-cheek comment that was a repost made on the site…
Mr. Kapplehoff explained that he was familiar with the case, and this does not fall under hate speech or hate crimes statutes. In order for a comment to be defined as hate speech it has to
pass the following litmus test:
A) The threat has to be directed at an individual or a corporation, and must be truly ominous in nature. B) It has to be a true threat, not just a veiled threat.
He gave as an example of a real crime as this, “If someone sent an e-mail stating they were heading to that person’s house to kill them.”
He also went on to say that discourse is what makes the U.S. the greatest country on Earth and it is part of our fabric. He also said that he has no intention to become the “thought police.”
[…]
Unlike many at CAIR, I know that there are good people and bad people. Guys like Mr. Bedier have a history of saying and doing bad things. He supported Sami Al-Arian, and he has said organizations like PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) were moral organizations prior to 1996 (even though they carried out terrorist attacks on innocent people). These were just two examples. He is also always preaching that Christians and others need to learn tolerance for Islam, yet he does not require the same of his own people. If he did he would be spending time trying to get the Jihadist website removed because that is where many Americans get their biased views. If he wants to clean-up my backyard, he needs to clean his front yard up first.
A big thank-you to Tampa Pirate for attending the seminar and helping to extend the agenda to cover more than “Islamophobia”.
Next up in the “First Freedom” series is Seattle, Washington, on May 10, 2007. More information about the seminar is available here. We’ll need volunteers in Latte City for this event — if you live in or near Seattle and are willing to attend, please send Gates of Vienna your report, and we’ll post it here.
Hat tip: Christine of Vigilant Freedom.
8 comments:
It is vital to oppose the comprehensive evil of Islam. The western democracies and societies that have abandoned the treasure of Christianity are powerless to see the dark evil behind Islam, the vile malevolence (and evil power) that drives individual Muslims.
Our problem is not only opposing Islam everywhere it's defiling presence asserts itself, but also to inform (to illuminate) foolish liberal westerners of the crafty aggressive evil that controls Muslim devotees. The blindness of western people is extreme. This is a spiritual struggle between truth and life(the Church, the living Christ who rose from the grave) and the aggressive evil of hell manifested in Islam. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood as scripture very clearly states. The real power is not in bombs, bullets, intelligence, or political clout.... or nuclear weapons for that matter. It would help to dust off that old Bible, or go buy one and start reading... and put away the 'I know it all arrogance'. (I should post a note written to me by a Coptic Christian co-worker raised in Egypt under the oppression of Muslims... He told me himself of the real power behind the Muslims that he knows first hand, in his words 'the evil spirits'.) Anti-muslim atheists need to put their arrogant, atheistic foolishness away...
I suggest dusting off those unused churches and getting some people that know the Lord in those pulpits, instead of the lost (blind leading the blind) liberal theologians. That may be a challenge in some European places. It's also getting to be a challenge here in the states.
Paul said:
It is vital to oppose the comprehensive evil of Islam. The western democracies and societies that have abandoned the treasure of Christianity are powerless to see the dark evil behind Islam, the vile malevolence (and evil power) that drives individual Muslims.
That kind of blanket statement about whole groups of people id unwarranted. How, as a Christian, can you put yourself in God's place and judge for us who is evil and who isn't? For many Muslims, the drive is to live a life in keeping with the rules of their religion.
The real clash comes because of the billions poured into this world wide project by the Saudi wahhibists; it is they who do harm.
First clean up the Christian house - which is a mess -- before you go after another religion wholesale. Were I an agnostic, your fire and brimstone horatory would not entice me to join you in any effort.
If there is any "I know it all arrogance," sir, it is coming from your polemic. Such words fragment us, they do not unite. Faith is a gift, is it not something one can acquire by grabbing a bible and beginning to read.
Way to go there, D. I'm with you. I don't practice any religion per se, but if I did it certainly would not be Paul's. There are a lot of things about Islam that appall me, but too many Christians say things that lead others to toss their doctrine into the heap also.
All that being said, I wonder if perhaps Paul wasn't just a bit unclear, when he spoke of "individual Muslims". Perhaps he didn't mean ALL Muslims as individuals, but those "individual" Muslims who are driven by the "evil power" of Islam. In essence, meaning those who become suicide bombers, and not Ahmed the local 7-11 owner.
Everybody says there is this RACE problem. Everybody says this RACE problem will be solved when the third world pours into EVERY white country and ONLY into white countries.
The Netherlands and Belgium are more crowded than Japan or Taiwan, but nobody says Japan or Taiwan will solve this RACE problem by bringing in millions of third worlders and quote assimilating unquote with them.
Everybody says the final solution to this RACE problem is for EVERY white country and ONLY white countries to "assimilate," i.e., intermarry, with all those non-whites.
What if I said there was this RACE problem and this RACE problem would be solved only if hundreds of millions of non-blacks were brought into EVERY black country and ONLY into black countries?
How long would it take anyone to realize I'm not talking about a RACE problem. I am talking about the final solution to the BLACK problem?
And how long would it take any sane black man to notice this and what kind of psycho black man wouldn't object to this?
But if I tell that obvious truth about the ongoing program of genocide against my race, the white race, Liberals and respectable conservatives agree that I am a naziwhowantstokillsixmillionjews.
They say they are anti-racist. What they are is anti-white.
Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white.
http://scotti-mantrablog.blogspot.com/
scotti--
I'm not understanding the jist of your argument. Could you make it a bit more clear for me.
I *think* you're saying that the current p.c. talking points revolve around making white = bad/Nazi/supremacist/warmonger and brown = good/egalitarian/democracy-loving peacemaker.
Have I got that right?
I did get the part about racist being a code word for white, but since you put it in negative statements my poorly functioning brain is having trouble parsing it.
D: I would clarify that each individual Muslim person is of great value and worth as demonstated by the sacrifice of Christ, the Messiah, on their, and our behalf. That includes the middle easterners working at our local middle eastern restaurants as well as those who enthusiastically engage in murder because Islam's book tells them they are doing service to God.
As for myself, I claim no great status: just another rebel saved by grace.
The point of my message was that there is spiritual power, evil power, at work in Islam. That kind of evil, according to the old and new testaments, is only successfully opposed by God's power, not ours. The western nations, by throwing away Christianity, have unwittingly thrown away access to real power on a personal and national level, and on God's covering of grace and protection over their land and culture.
But God is gracious, and like you say, offers us free grace and the gift of faith. We only need to humble ourselves and seek Him.
You may not approve of my style of delivery. Also, I am certain I am not as articulate as you are, as evidenced by your many interesting articles. However, try to overlook the shortcomings my literary skills.
Paul, you are a pompous git. Your solution to the encroachments of Islamism seems to be running away and hiding in Church, and praying against evil. This does not seem very Christian. I suggest practical action, such as political lobbying or publishing letters and articles in the local media, and winning converts to Christ from both atheism and islam.
Peasant
We need to be practical of course. But I believe as Paul, that we will loose without the spiritual dimension. As I read Paul, he doesn't say that we shouldn't be practical. We sometimes have different understanding of words.
practical action, for me, is not praying against evil, or as you say; talking or writing letters. Practical action for me, would be what the police or the army does.
There are many fronts in this war, and they all need attention, if we are to avoid being overrun. So we should all start by joining the one where we feel we can do most good. Some can pray, some can write and some can put out fires.
Post a Comment