Park51 Opponents Linked to Admirer of Terror Group Founder Pam Geller, Robert Spencer partner with admirer of Kach, Kahane Chai founder Rabbi Meir Kahane

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/19/10) --

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today that leaders of the main hate group opposing the planned Park51 Islamic community center in Manhattan are partners with an individual who says he is an admirer of the founder of two terrorist organizations.

In an Internet profile, John Joseph Jay, a founder of American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), named "rabbi meir kahna" [sic] as one of his "heroes and inspirations in life." This is an obvious reference to Rabbi Meir Kahane, the founder of the groups Kach and Kahane Chai, which have been listed as Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the U.S. Department of State.

Jay has in the past called for the killing of all Muslims. He wrote: "[T]here are no innocent muslims. islam is subject to killing on grounds of political expediency on the same basis as islam kills its victims, and islam cannot ethically and morally claim otherwise." [Note: Grammatical errors in the original text have been maintained.]

AFDI's other founders include anti-Islam extremists Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, the leaders of an affiliated anti-Islam hate group Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA), which is the main opponent of the planned Park51 Islamic community center in New York City.

SEE: The Rise of Shrieking Bigot Pamela Geller Attention TV Networks: Pam Geller is Lying to Your Viewers

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of the nation's leading civil rights activists, recently endorsed an open letter by a coalition of Muslim, Sikh, Asian-American, and other civil liberties groups sent to FBI Director Robert Mueller seeking an explanation of why Spencer was invited to train state and federal law enforcement officers.

SIOA is an outgrowth of a similar group in Europe that seeks to block the construction of mosques on that continent. SIOA's sister organization, Stop the Islamization of Europe, "considers Islamophobia to be the height of common sense."

Spencer's group has invited anti-Islam Dutch extremist Geert Wilders to speak at a September 11 protest against the proposed Islamic community center in New York City.

The independent national media watch group Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) identified Spencer as one of "Islamophobia's Dirty Dozen" who systematically "spread fear, bigotry, and misinformation." In its report, FAIR said, "By selectively ignoring inconvenient Islamic texts and commentaries, Spencer concludes that Islam is innately extremist and violent."

Pamela Geller has claimed that "Hitler and the Nazis were inspired by Islam" and offered rhetorical support to both accused Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic and slain Apartheid-era leader Eugene Terre'blanche.

SEE: Pamela Geller: The Looniest Blogger Ever

She has posted images on her blog that include a fake photograph of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan in a Nazi uniform, another fake image of President Obama urinating on an American flag and drawings purporting to depict Islam's Prophet Muhammad as a pig. In a June 25 blog entry, Geller posted a video claiming that Muslims engage in bestiality.

CAIR Video: TV Host Exposes Pamela Geller's Anti-Muslim Bigotry SIOA is an Anti-Muslim Hate Group Fox Opens Its Airwaves to Anti-Muslim Activist Geller

The United States Patent and Trademark Office refused to grant SIOA a trademark because: "The applied-for mark refers to Muslims in a disparaging manner because by definition it implies that conversion or conformity to Islam is something that needs to be stopped or caused to cease."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. 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.

CONTACT:

CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726,

E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171,

E-Mail: arubin@cair.com