CAIR-MA, Muslim Groups to Counter Synagogue's Islamophobic Speakers with 'Choose Love Over Hate' Event

BOSTON, Nov. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Later today, the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will join Muslim community leaders at a "Choose Love Over Hate" event organized in response to a Stoughton, Mass. Synagogue's decision to host three Islamophobes and anti-Muslim hate group leaders.

Video: CAIR-MA Asks Synagogue to Cancel Event Featuring Islamophobes 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-ra2ITfyjw

WHAT: 'Choose Love Over Hate' Event at Synagogue Hosting Islamophobes
WHEN: Wednesday, November 2, beginning at 7:15 p.m.
WHERE: Outside Ahavath Torah Congregation (1179 Central St., Stoughton, MA 02072)
CONTACT: CAIR-MA Executive Director Dr. John Robbins, [email protected], 617-862-9159

At that event, the Muslim community members will give out hugs and free donuts in an effort to show the true face of their faith.

Today's event will be held outside a scheduled panel discussion at the Ahavath Torah Synagogue featuring Islamophobes Frank Gaffney, Jerry Boykin and Tom Trento, all of whom the Southern Poverty Law Center has identified as anti-Muslim extremists or hate group leaders.

SPLC: Active Hate Groups in the United States
http://tinyurl.com/z64zrfj 
Frank Gaffney:
http://tinyurl.com/j6788l8 
Jerry Boykin:
http://tinyurl.com/JBoykin 
Tom Trento:
http://tinyurl.com/zx5g8nl

"The Quran tells Muslims to 'repel evil by that which is better,' and here we're planning to do exactly that," said Dr. John Robbins, CAIR-MA's executive director. "It's deplorable for leaders of recognized anti-Muslim hate groups, who are identified as such by the Southern Poverty Law Center alongside neo-Nazis and white supremacist organizations, to be given a platform anywhere in our state, but especially at a place of worship. We want to show those who would hear negative messages about Islam at the event the truth: that their Muslim neighbors are purveyors of peace within their communities."

Robbins noted that a coalition of almost 100 interfaith leaders, including some of the most prominent religious leaders in the Boston-area Christian and Jewish communities, released an open statement expressing deep concerns about the event.

SEE: Faith leaders sound alarm about critics of Islam appearing at Stoughton synagogue - The Boston Globe
http://tinyurl.com/hmkpv8w  
Statement of Interfaith Solidarity Against Islamophobia in Massachusetts 
http://tinyurl.com/hb8x7d3

Information about the speakers' Islamophobic views is also available at CAIR's Islamophobia Monitor website.

SEE: CAIR Islamophobia Monitor
http://www.islamophobia.org/

Gaffney is a notorious anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist who has claimed that "most of the Muslim-American groups of any prominence in America are now known to be, as a matter of fact, hostile to the United States and its Constitution.

He is a key promoter of the bizarre conspiracy theory that Muslims in public service are infiltrating the government on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Gaffney has questioned "whether Mr. Obama is a natural born citizen of the United States," claimed the Missile Defense Agency logo is part of a "worrying pattern of official U.S. submission to Islam," claimed an aide to Hillary Clinton was a secret Muslim Brotherhood operative, was a key witness for the plaintiffs in a controversial lawsuit seeking to block construction of a Tennessee mosque, promoted the debunked claim that Dearborn, Mich., is a "ghetto enclave in which it's Muslim-only," and hosted "white supremacist" Jared Taylor on his "Secure Freedom" radio program.

Gaffney's staff attorney, David Yerushalmi, has advocated outlawing the practice of Islam in America and is the key promoter of anti-Islam bills in state legislatures nationwide, including one being voted on today by the Idaho legislature.

When leading GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump proposed a ban on all Muslims entering the United States, he quoted from a sham survey commissioned by Gaffney's organization.

Retired Lieutenant General William G. "Jerry" Boykin, has stated that "[Islam] should not be protected under the First Amendment," that there should be "no mosques in America" and that there can be no interfaith dialogue or cooperation between Muslims and Christians.

CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: William Boykin
http://tinyurl.com/jc668fp

In 2012, CAIR welcomed Boykin's withdrawal from a prayer breakfast at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point following a controversy over his bigoted views.

Boykin has argued that "We need to realize that Islam itself is not just a religion - it is a totalitarian way of life. ... It should not be protected under the First Amendment, particularly given that those following the dictates of the Quran are under an obligation to destroy our Constitution and replace it with Sharia law."

At a 2013 event marking the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, Tom Trento spewed Islamophobic rhetoric in the presence of law enforcement authorities, public officials and schoolchildren.

He told the audience: "I'm not talking about radical Islam or moderate Islam. I'm talking about all Islam. Their goal is to get every single one of us to convert to Islam. And they won't stop until we do."

SEE: Florida 9/11 Memorial Turns Into Anti-Islam Hate Fest (Herald Tribune)
http://tinyurl.com/zpdlp8d

The Washington-based Muslim civil rights group is asking Muslim community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR's Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: http://tinyurl.com/pdjlp8q

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.

La misión de CAIR es mejorar la comprensión del Islam, fomentar el diálogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprensión mutua.

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CONTACT: CAIR-MA Executive Director Dr. John Robbins, [email protected], 617-862-9159

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

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