New round of anti-Islamic hate ads to be hung in subways

December 10, 2012 Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

anti_Islamic_B_ad_MTA.jpg

Share this:

New advertisements carrying anti-religious messages — created by Pamela Geller and her anti-Islamic “American Freedom Defense Initiative” – will be hanging in New York City subways starting December 17, the New York Observer reports.

Last September Geller took out 10 ads in city subways equating Muslims with savages. All of the ads were defaced within hours.

This latest round will feature an image of the sky as the World Trade Center erupted into flames in 2001, accompanied by a quote from the Quran that reads “Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers.”

The MTA has its hands tied when it comes to prohibiting “demeaning” ads, according to the law, so it must allow the advertisements. The agency will, however, be adding a disclaimer saying the MTA does not endorse “any of the views expressed.”

“These ads were reviewed last week and adhere to our recently amended advertising standards,” MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz told the Brooklyn Eagle. “The ads will be printed and will appear at yet to be determined stations in the next week or two.”

Geller’s lawyer told a court in Washington, D.C., “There is no law against ‘hate speech’ in America,” according to her website.

Geller was part of the anti-Muslim group Stop the Madrassa, which attempted to block the opening of Brooklyn’s non-religious public Arabic-English school, the Khalil Gibran International Academy.

She was not successful in blocking the school but temporarily succeeded (with the help of the New York Post) in a smear campaign against its widely-respect founder, Debbie Almontaser, who stepped down as principal. (More on this story in the Brooklyn Eagle archives, search “Khalil Gibran International Academy.”)

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Geller’s claims — such as that President Obama is the “love child” of Malcolm X, or that he is a “muhammadan” [sic] who wants jihad to win” – are “preposterous.”