Video: Terry Jones Should Not be Given the Publicity He Seeks (CAIR)
CAIR-OK: The Conservative Panic About Muslim Laws in Oklahoma

- MEDIA ADVISORY -

CAIR: Groups to Challenge Anti-Islam Bias in NY Senate Hearing

(NEW YORK, NY, 4/5/11) -- On Thursday, April 7, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), along with a coalition of other Muslim, civil rights and interfaith organizations, will hold a news conference on the steps of City Hall in Manhattan to challenge expected anti-Islam bias in a State Senate hearing featuring an infamous Islamophobe.

WHAT: News Conference to Challenge Anti-Islam Bias in NY State Senate Hearing
WHEN: Thursday, April 7, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Steps of New York City Hall, New York, NY
CONTACT: CAIR-NY Civil Rights Manager Cyrus McGoldrick, 203-206-6883 or 212-870-2002, E-Mail: cmcgoldrick@cair.com

On Friday, the New York Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs will hold the hearing, entitled "Reviewing our Preparedness: An Examination of New York's Public Protection Ten Years After September 11," at its office in City Hall.

The hearing features topics such as "The Culture of Jihad and Shariah Law." Scheduled speakers include Nonie Darwish and Rep. Peter King (R-NY). (Frank Gaffney will speak at a follow-up event in Albany.)

SEE: Homeland Security Hearing 10 Years After 9-11

Darwish, a self-styled "former Moslem" has written that "Islam is cruel, anti-women, anti-religious freedom and anti-personal freedom in general." A review of her book, "Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law," states: "For Darwish, Islam is a sinister force that must be resisted and contained."

She told the New York Times: "A mosque is not just a place for worship. It's a place where war is started, where commandments to do jihad start, where incitements against non-Muslims occur. It's a place where ammunition was stored." Darwish's group, Former Muslims United, once put up a billboard stating "Stop the Murfreesboro Mosque" in an attempt to block the construction of a mosque in Tennessee.

Video: Nonie Darwish Says Mosques are 'Where War is Started'
Across Nation, Mosque Projects Meet Opposition (NY times)

Darwish will apparently speak at the event under the pseudonym "Nahid Hyde."

A second speaker at the senate event, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), recently held a hearing on alleged "radicalization" in the American Muslim community that was widely condemned bymembers of Congress and interfaith and civil liberties groups.

SEE: 'Invasion of the Mind Snatchers,' Starring Rep. Peter King
GOP's Muslim Stand Isn't Helping the Country or the Party

Frank Gaffney, listed as a speaker at a similar future senate event in Albany, was a witness for the plaintiffs in a controversial lawsuit against the construction of the Tennessee mosque.

Gaffney: Mosques Want 'To Destroy Western Civilization From Within' (Video)

Gaffney, president of the Washington-based Center for Security Policy, is the employer of David Yerushalmi, author of the template used to promote anti-Islam bills in a growing number of state legislatures. Yerushalmi is also head of the anti-Islam hate group Societyof Americans for National Existence (SANE).

On its now password-protected website, SANE offered a policy proposal that would make "adherence to Islam" punishable by 20 years in prison, called for the immediate deportation of all non-citizen Muslims and urged Congress to declare war on the "Muslim Nation," which SANE defined as "all Muslims."

SEE: A SANE Act to Deal with the Islamic Threat to America's National Existence(SADITANE)
Meet the White Supremacist Leading the GOP's Anti-Sharia Crusade

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.

- END -

CONTACT: CAIR-NY Civil Rights Manager Cyrus McGoldrick, 203-206-6883, E-Mail: cmcgoldrick@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, or 202-488-8787, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com