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Is America's Legal System Islam's Best
Friend
CAIR Targets Another Conservative Talk
Show Host
By Susan Jones
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is pressing advertisers
to withdraw their sponsorship of Michael Savage's nationally syndicated
radio program because of Savage's alleged "anti-Muslim bigotry."
Savage, on his Web site, is fighting back, urging his listeners to
protect freedom of speech: "Email your representative; investigate CAIR
for manipulating the U.S. media," his Web site says.
On Nov. 1, CAIR urged "radio listeners of all faiths" to contact
companies that advertise on "The Savage Nation" to complain about an
"anti-Muslim tirade" on Savage's Oct. 29 program. (CAIR periodically
issues "incitement alerts," urging its members to contact various media
outlets to express their concerns about "Islamophobic attitudes.")
CAIR was particularly disturbed by Savage's "shouted anti-Muslim
attacks," which it quoted as follows:
-- I'm not gonna put my wife in a hijab. And I'm not gonna put my
daughter in a burqa. And I'm not getting' on my all-fours and braying to
Mecca. And you could drop dead if you don't like it. You can shove it up
your pipe. I don't wanna hear anymore about Islam. I don't wanna hear
one more word about Islam. Take your religion and shove it up your
behind. I'm sick of you.
-- What kind of religion is this? What kind of world are you living in
when you let them in here with that throwback document in their hand,
which is a book of hate. Don't tell me I need reeducation. They need
deportation. I don't need reeducation. Deportation, not reeducation. You
can take C-A-I-R and throw 'em out of my country. I'd raise the American
flag and I'd get out my trumpet if you did it. Without due process. You
can take your due process and shove it.
-- What sane nation that worships the U.S. Constitution, which is the
greatest document of freedom ever written, would bring in people who
worship a book that tells them the exact opposite. Make no mistake about
it, the Quran is not a document of freedom. The Quran is a document of
slavery and chattel. It teaches you that you are a slave.
CAIR also complained that Savage has a "long history of rhetorical
attacks on Muslims and other minorities."
Explosive and unafraid
Savage's own Web site describes him as "explosive conservative radio
talk show host" who "continues to dominate the airwaves with his brash
commentary and unapologetic solutions...Savage is harder hitting than
other conservatives...a media icon who is unafraid to take on the
establishment."
"...In show, books and speeches, Michael Savage electrifies and
galvanizes his audiences. If you're looking for someone with an opinion
-- who isn't afraid to tell it like it is -- he's your man."
On Nov. 2, CAIR's Minnesota chapter announced that three companies in
that state had agreed to pull their advertisements from "The Savage
Nation."
And on Thursday, CAIR thanked Citrix Systems, Inc., for agreeing to drop
its advertisements from Savage's nationally syndicated program. "We
appreciate Citrix's principled action to disassociate itself from
Michael Savage's hate-filled rhetoric," said CAIR Communications
Coordinator Amina Rubin in a news release on Thursday.
"We urge other local and national companies running ads on Savage's
program to follow Citrix's example in support of religious tolerance."
What about free speech?
"Free speech is a precious right that we fully support and strive to
protect," Rubin added. "We are not seeking to curb Mr. Savage's freedom
of speech, but to demonstrate that Americans and American companies will
not tolerate hatred and bigotry."
CAIR, which describes itself as America's largest Muslim civil liberties
group, says 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."
But conservative commentators who have been on the receiving end of
CAIR's anti-Islamaphobia campaigns disagree.
Radio talk show host Michael Graham, forced out of his job in the
Washington, D.C., market for refusing to apologize for remarks that
offended a Muslim group, landed a new job in Boston, Mass., last year.
CAIR, which pressed for Graham's removal, said it received complaints
from Muslim listeners who heard Graham say, "Islam is a terrorist
organization," "Islam is at war with America," "The problem is not
extremism. The problem is Islam," and "We are at war with a terrorist
organization named Islam."
Graham was suspended from his job at ABC-owned WMAL in Washington on
July 29, 2005, after he refused a management request to apologize for
practicing what CAIR called "hate radio."
"When CAIR is able to quell dissent and label every critic a 'bigot,'
the chilling effect is felt far beyond ABC Radio and 630 WMAL," Graham
said at the time.
On Thursday, CAIR said radio host Michael Savage has "stepped up his
attacks on Islam and Muslims in response to CAIR's advertiser campaign."
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