UPDATE: Was the Orlando Sentinel embarrassed by this shoddy hit piece? They have just removed it from their site. Let's hear it for the last shreds of journalistic integrity. (Thanks to Morgan for the heads-up.)
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They call this journalism. "Miami-Dade Transit Drops Anti-Islam ads," by Jeff Kunerth in the Orlando Sentinel, April 19:
Miami-Dade Transit has decided to drop bus advertisements sponsored by an anti-Islam hate group after complaints by the South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The South Florida CAIR asked that the ads, produced by the hate group Stop the Islamization of America, be dropped because they promote bigotry and may fuel discrimination against ordinary Florida Muslims.
"We believe Miami-Dade Transit did the right thing in dropping this campaign of hatred and intolerance," said CAIR-SFL Executive Director Muhammed Malik. "The advertisement's reference to apostasy is merely a smoke-screen for the promotion of anti-Islam bigotry and the attempted marginalization of American Muslims."
I added this comment:
Your characterization of Stop Islamization of America as a hate group is not only inaccurate, but libelous.
SIOA stands for the freedom of speech, the equality of rights of all people before the law, and the freedom of conscience (as exemplified by these bus ads, designed to protect those threatened with death for leaving Islam, in accord with Islam's traditional death penalty for apostasy, which comes from Muhammad the Islamic prophet's dictum, "If anyone changes his religion, kill him").
All of these are denied in Islamic law. Would you then defend their extinguishing and characterize their defense as "hate"?
Please note also that the Council on American-Islamic Relations is an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas terror funding case, has had several of its officials convicted of jihad terror activities, and has opposed every anti-terror measure introduced since 9/11.
Which one is the "hate group" again?
The Orlando Sentinel ought to be ashamed to publish this defamatory nonsense.
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Robert Spencer - author - writes for JihadWatch.org
