SOFT JIHAD COMES TO TEXAS
FIRST TIME IN HOUSTON, TEXAS
SOME OF THE WORST ISLAMIC HATE PREACHERS GATHER AT "ISNA"'S
HOUSTON, TEXAS CONFERENCE
BY ROBERT SPENCER
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
Not a word of objection from the Hilton, which expelled a group of ex-Muslims for fear that ISNA conference attendees might be offended.“Some of the Worst Islamist Hate Preachers Gather at ISNA’s Houston Conference,” by Martha Lee, Algemeiner, August 31, 2018 (thanks to the Geller Report):___________________________________________________________________From August 31 to September 3, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) will host its 55th Annual Convention in Houston, Texas. Although ISNA is one of the largest Muslim advocacy groups in the United States, the organization has a history of inviting extremist speakers to address its crowds. This year’s conference fits ISNA’s usual pattern. Titled “In God We Trust,” the convention once again features speakers with long histories of inciting hatred against Jews, women, homosexuals, and other minorities.One Muslim commentator noticeably missing, however, is Wajahat Ali, a prominent Muslim-American attorney and journalist. His invitation to the ISNA conference was revoked after he took part in the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Muslim Leadership Initiative, a program that “invites North American Muslims to explore how Jews understand Judaism, Israel and Jewish peoplehood.”According to Ali, his involvement with this interfaith initiative, as well as an article he wrote about his conversations with Israelis, led to his expulsion.While Ali appears beyond the pale for ISNA and its supporters, some of America’s most extreme Islamist clerics and activists have been judged to be fine additions. Islamist Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum, has put together a small dossier of the worst of these speakers.Among them is Indonesian imam Shamsi Ali, who has received international praise for his interfaith work. Ali has styled himself as an interfaith advocate in the US — all the while posting very different views, written in Indonesian, on his social media accounts.Ali has written that “Jews are working to destroy Islam and the Ummah [the worldwide Muslim community],” and has expressed “respect for the fighting spirit of Hamas.” He has also attacked the West’s acceptance of homosexuality, lamenting that Muslims who oppose it are “considered to be against human rights and freedom as well.”ISNA also invited Hussain Kamani, an American-born instructor at the Qalam Institute, who has endorsed sex slavery. In a talk, Kamani explained that Muslim men may fulfill any sexual desires “with a female slave that belongs to him.” According to Kamani, “those who commit adultery or have sex outside of marriage” must be “stoned to death.” Kamani views Western society as “filth. … We are surrounded by filth … our environment is full of this filth, everywhere we turn.”There are many more examples in the dossier produced by Islamist Watch. And they include ISNA’s own officials. ISNA stalwart (and former president) Muzammil Siddiqui, for example, has expressed support for laws in countries that punish homosexuality with death.And ISNA’s current Vice-President, Pervez Nasim, recently approvingly posted a video on his social media of an interview with Ken O’Keefe, a prominent antisemitic conspiracy theorist and Holocaust denier.In the video, O’Keefe discusses the “so called Holocaust” and angrily asks why “we can’t even talk about Jewish control of the mainstream media.” He accuses Mossad agents of having foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks, and insists that the US government is “owned by the Jewish state.” Nasim himself has also stated that “victims and survivors of Holocaust are fast losing sympathy,” and that, unlike in Gaza, “at least in Nazi concentration camps there was plenty of water and electricity!”…Houston: Ex-Muslims banned from Hilton across from ISNA convention for “I’m an Ex-Muslim” t-shirtsBY ROBERT SPENCERrepublished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:Intolerant non-Muslim Leftists eagerly acting to stop what they think will offend their Muslim friends and allies. It would be interesting to know whether ISNA demanded that the ex-Muslims be barred, or whether this sweaty, ham-handed, self-righteous, officious Hilton official took it upon himself to do so.“Ex-Muslims banned from Houston Hilton Starbucks for Atheist shirts,” Ex-Muslims of North America, September 2, 2018:On Saturday, September 1st, Ex-Muslims of North America (EXMNA) volunteers were forcibly expelled from a Starbucks within a Hilton hotel in Houston, Texas, after refusing to change out of T-Shirts stating “God Love is Greatest” and “I’m an Ex-Muslim, Ask Me Why”.The EXMNA volunteers were taking a coffee break at the Starbucks after a day of handing out flyers and speaking with and interviewing attendees at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)’s annual conference. Without warning, they were informed by staff that they must leave the establishment.“I was surprised. I was simply drinking my iced coffee and scrolling through my phone, and they told me I needed to leave, so I asked why”, says Lina an ex-Muslim Syrian woman who had traveled to the conference on behalf of EXMNA. “I was told that they are not allowing protestors at the property, I assured the woman that I was not a protestor. She then asked me if I was part of the event or a guest at the hotel. I was neither. I was then told that even though I was a paying customer, I was not allowed to be on the premise as it was reserved for guests and event members for the weekend and that they will not be allowing anyone else on their private property. However, I noticed the Starbucks was still open to the public and I didn’t see anyone else being asked to leave.”Upon additional inquiry after leaving the premises, the hotel employees stated on video that the EXMNA group was not welcome due to their T-shirts, and repeatedly claimed the group was “protesting”, a charge which all volunteers explicitly denied multiple times.“This appears to be a case of discrimination,” says President of Ex-Muslims of North America, Muhammad Syed. “We were asked to leave the premises and informed that we could only enter the premises if we removed the shirts, none of which stated anything inflammatory. The treatment was unjust and especially cruel considering the plight of ex-Muslims. We are killed and abused all over the world for our disbelief. It is unconscionable that companies like Starbucks and Hilton acquiesce to conservative religious sensibilities”.As of 2018, over a dozen Muslim-majority countries prescribe the death penalty for Muslims who leave the faith. Muslim leaders from across the world, including most recently, Pakistan, have called for international cooperation in penalizing content considered blasphemous in Islam.“I don’t expect much of the media to cover what happened here. Previously, we have faced discrimination at the hands of employees at other companies due to our apostasy, and the coverage was minimal,” continues Muhammad Syed. In 2016, Wegmans refused to bake Ex-Muslims of North America an anniversary cake, allegedly due to the offense the cake design was causing the bakery’s Muslim employees. The design of the cake rejected as “offensive” by the bakery contained only the statement “Congrats on 3 years” alongside the organization’s name and logo.“The gay wedding cake issue was gaining a lot of coverage back then, so one would have assumed that our discrimination would be very relevant,” continued Muhammad Syed, “but sadly, people are divided by politics instead of sticking to their principals. Freedom of religion and from religion are non-partisan issues we should all be fighting for. Most ex-Muslims are progressive or broadly on the Left, so it is especially discouraging to see the lack of solidarity from progressives.”…But not in the least surprising._______________________________________________________________SEE ALSO:
STARBUCKS BOOTS PAYING CUSTOMERS FOR WEARING T-SHIRTS STATING THEY ARE EX-MUSLIMS
