Detroit Transit Sued for Nixing SIOA ‘Leaving Islam?’ Bus ads
A bus-ad campaign that seeks to offer resources to those considering leaving Islam already has stirred up controversy in Miami and New York, but its next city may create the most fireworks - Detroit, the U.S. metropolitan area with the heaviest concentration of Middle Easterners.
The Detroit-area bus authority has refused to run the ads from Stop Islamization of America, an organization headed up by conservative activist and anti-jihad blogger Pamela Geller, prompting SIOA to file a federal lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Mrs. Geller said the transport authority’s refusal to run her ads violates her First Amendment right of free speech, and she will take the lawsuit to the Supreme Court if necessary.
“It is against the law, and I tell you, those ads will go up whether they like it or not,” Mrs. Geller said.
SIOA initially encountered a similar refusal in Miami, but Mrs. Geller said a lawsuit prompted the transport-authority there to relent in less than 24 hours.
Several calls to the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, which operates the bus system serving Detroit and two surrounding counties, were not returned Thursday.
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan, said he expects that even if the ads do run in Detroit, they will not elicit any response besides puzzlement. The Detroit area, centering on Dearborn, is home to a quarter-million Muslims, whom Mr. Walid does not expect to react favorably to the presence of SIOA’s ads in their city.
“If she’s planning to put those Islamophobic ads in Detroit, she’s wasting her time,” Mr. Walid said.
The Detroit area also has a large Arab and Middle Eastern Christian population, centering on suburbs north of the city proper.
Mrs. Geller said SIOA began its national city-by-city ad campaign in response to bus ads in Florida inviting people to convert to Islam.
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But a public educator in Dearborn, speaking on the condition of anonymity owing to fear of retribution, said there is a climate of fear in the Detroit area’s Muslim community.
“The fear is palpable. I know there are things I am ‘not allowed’ to say. A discussion of religion with a Muslim person is often prefaced by the statement, ‘Dont say anything about the Prophet [Muhammad].’ In free society, open and honest conversation is not usually begun by a prohibition. Threats and intimidation are just part of life here.”
CAIR’s denial of the dangers of apostasy are part of the reason behind Mrs. Geller’s campaign, which she defined as a religious-freedom issue.
“We’re not encouraging people to leave Islam,” she said.
Whether or not the ads actually encourage apostasy, the furor elsewhere already have received a considerable amount of negative attention from American Muslims.
“The ads are to serve a purpose - to incite Islamophobia,” Mr. Walid said. “The average person here will see them for what they are.”
The Dearborn educator, however, said the ads serve a positive purpose.
“This kind of campaign and Americans support of it could assure these frightened Muslims that they have the rights that every other American has, that they will be protected, not abandoned or exposed to their leaders should they act upon their desire to be free,” the teacher said
why when muslim calls other people in christian country is good for them and why when we call muslim to left islam is bad for them ad the matter fact islam not from god but from some people cooperated with mohamed to make new religion let tell you something id all american trnselated qurans and you read it you will know its not from god but from evils in egypt we use to hear our cursing every days when muslim prays insulting jews and christians in 5 prayers they have and disciped us with all nasty words and if you lift islam in egypt and convert to christian you will be kill is that fair to forced others to believed in mohamed,is that religions of mercey as muslim said,believe me muslim smile in your face but inside hes heart he cursin you if you not musli9m and strong like mohamed told them,but when muslim be strong look what they going to do with you, god bless america forever
The muslim belief or plan is to take over the world. They’re doing the same thing in Europe. If your not muslim your a animal to them. They have no respect for anybody else. Christians should have the same rights. I agree fully with your statement.
Muslims is just like Hitler was!!!! They’re doing the same thing.
Pamela Geller is a heroic American who has laid it all on the line in order to defeat the Islamofascist Jihad in the US and beyond.
Greg,
How did you make up the idea that Pamela is in any way encouraging violence?
Is assuring people that they get support if they want to leave Islam a form of violence?
[...] We are suing Detroit, who is under the Islamic supremacist thumb of CAIR) for refusing the freedom bus ads while in the process of buying other cities now. “If she’s planning to put those Islamophobic ads in Detroit, she’s wasting her time,” said Mr. Walid , Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan. [...]
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK PAMELA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CAN YOU CARRY THIS ORGANIZATION TO OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE ISLAM IS CRUSHING WOMEN UNDER THEIR FOOT AND ALL THEY SEE IS HOPELESS BLEAK FUTURE — NOT UNLIKE THEIR BLACK BURGAS.
I AM NOT SAYING WOMEN OF OTHER FAITHS ARE ANY BETTER BUT ISLAM IS LIKE THE ‘ROACH MOTEL’ — GET IN BUT NEVER GET OUT. WOMEN OF OTHER FAITHS CAN GET OUT AND JOIN OTHER FELLOWSHIPS AND FAITHS AND WORST THING THE FAMILY CAN DO IS DISOWN THEM (GOOD RIDDANCE TO THE FAMILY THEN!!!).
COUNTRIES BRANDED AS ‘ISLAMIC’ FORBID OTHER RELIGIONS TO WORSHIP AND SLOWLY TAKE AWAY THEIR PLACES OF WORSHIP AND TURN THEM IN TO PLACES OF BUSINESS OR PARKING LOTS.
ISLAM IS EVIL !!!!!!!!!!
MOHAMMED WAS THE FALSE PROPHET THAT THE BIBLE WARNS US ABOUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!
IF ISLAM SPREADS, IT IS THE END OF THE WORLD.
Pam continue your wonderful work….I will support you in any way I can. Hopefully all Americans will wake up, you have been asleep far to long…Go Pam…
AMERICANS WAKE UP…A WOMAN WAS STONED JUST THE OTHER DAY IN AFGHANISTAN…IS THIS WHAT YOU HAVE FOUGHT FOR…TALK TO THE SOLDIERS WHO ARE PROTECTING OUR FREEDOM IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN…LISTEN TO WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ISLAM….PAM NEVER GIVE UP THE FIGHT!!!!!!AS A YOUNG COLLEGE STUDENT, I JOINED NOW…..WOMEN IN AMERICA NEED TO STAND UP AND FIGHT TO DEFEAT THE SHARIA LAW IN THIS COUNTRY…THAT IS A FIGHT THAT I WILL TAKE TO THE STREETS FOR…WAKE UP AMERICA!!!
[...] (Islamic law and finance). And yes, these are the same legal warriors who are representing me in my lawsuit against the city of Detroit for violation of free speech for refusing my freedom bus ads. Look for breaking news on that in the next few [...]
Why are we even having a discussion about building the osque at ground zero? NO! End of discussion. I am sick to deathe of dealing with Islam. When the conservative talk show hosts really get up the courage to stop making a distinction between so called “radical” and other Muslims, we’ll be getting there. I’ve been fighting the fight since the 60′s when my Mother was in Oakwood hospital in Dearborn. I have never seen such a pushy,aggressive bunch of people in my life. Even then, they had the management of the hospital on the ropes. Everyoneelse was onl allowed to have 2 visitors. Not them. The hospital’s response to complaints was that they couldn’t do anything because it was their CULTURE”. Their culture???? Well, I hate their culture. Every time I am in a mall and encounter these women in their head scarves, it’s all I can do to keep myself from screaming at them. We wouldn’t allow anyone to walk around in Ku Klux Clan garb. we shouldn’t allow this cult to walk around in their anti-western costume that is being worn by people who have declared war on the west. Go To youtube and watch “Muslim Demographics”. It’s true. I have been following this for many years.WAKE THE HELL UP AMERICA! They were able to use our laws and our PC mentality to have pork removed from the Plymouth/Canton Mich. schools. WHY? They are boiling the from. Gribbit
Pam Geller is smart, she’s ahead of the curve announcing the obvious about Islam and Muslims; they are a thug group which is working on over throwing this country and will come close as dumb Americans pretend it’s not happening. Hundreds of Mosques throughout this country ?. The Muslim population does not warrant this many Mosques. Their new tactic is to use our weak Commander in Fool with a liberal congress and American hearts, to scream and shout Sharia Law and demands into our fabric. Our weakened Nation will not even stop Illegals by the thousands changing America into a third world dump. This mosque madness reminds me of Zzz Best Carpet cleaning scam where many buildings sat empty across the Nation while the leader pillaged the ‘ Till ‘. Wait till you see the rage on American faces when they truly wake up and fight.
If you appease a bully, they bully more.
Just a quick thought here….If the Mosque is built in NY, what will ‘Bloomfool’ and all the other lib supporters of it say when the Muslims start complaining about the annual ceremony of 9-11 saying how the traffic and noise insults them, how they will start counter protesting loudly while the rememerance is on, how they will invite their masses to pray at the new shiney Mosque where the only room available will be outside in the street and in the hundreds and thousands they wiil come to overload the city with worshippers on city streets….all under the shadow of the twin towers. ” Cordoba ” on a large scale and in your face.
Don’t think it won’t ?, it already did in NY and Paris.