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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAIR-FL Thanks Rubio, Scott for Avoiding Event with Hate Group Leader

(MIAMI, FL, 10/27/11) -- The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today thanked Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Governor Rick Scott for declining to speak at next week's Florida Tea Party convention, which features a presentation by anti-Islam extremist Pamela Geller and another Islamophobe.

Rubio and Scott are listed as "confirmed speakers" at the convention, but representatives of their respective offices told CAIR-FL that the event is not on the senator's nor the governor's official schedule.

SEE: Fla. Tea Party Convention to Feature Anti-Muslim Extremist
SEE: Florida Tea Party Convention Program

Along with Geller, the convention features an anti-Islam activist who goes by the name "Bill Warner." "Warner" (Bill French) and Geller are identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as members of the "anti-Muslim inner circle."

"We thank Senator Rubio and Governor Scott for avoiding the false perception that they would in any way legitimize anti-Muslim hatred by appearing at an event featuring hard-core Islamophobes," said CAIR-Tampa Executive Director Hassan Shibly.

Shibly said Pamela Geller is co-founder of Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA), an organization designated as a hate group by the SPLC, and author of a new book offering step-by-step instructions on how to stop mosque construction in American communities.

SPLC: Active Anti-Muslim Groups
Pamela Geller's New Book: Communist Bookstore Clerks and "Secret Halal Meat"

She most recently bragged that she uses a Quran, Islam's holy text, as a doorstop. Two hotels, one in Texas and another in Tennessee, have dropped scheduled events that featured Geller as a speaker. Her hate blog was cited frequently by the terrorist who went on a killing spree earlier this year in Norway.

Another Hotel Turns Away Pamela Geller and Anti-Shariah Group

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

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."

Geller has claimed that "Hitler and the Nazis were inspired by Islam" and that Islam "mandates" lies and deception.

SEE: Pamela Geller: The Looniest Blogger Ever

She has also posted images on her blog that include a fake photograph of then 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.

One image posted by Geller, headlined "Piss Be Upon Him," showed one of the controversial Danish cartoons of the prophet covered in urine. ("Piss Be Upon Him" is designed to mock the traditional phrase "Peace Be Upon Him" that Muslims use when mentioning any prophet of God, including Abraham and Jesus.)

Geller has written of President Obama: "[O]ne thing is for sure: Hussein is a muhammadan [sic]." Geller also wrote: "[I]t is well known that Obama allegedly was involved with a crack whore in his youth."

In a 2010 blog entry, Geller posted a video claiming that Muslims engage in bestiality.

According to Geller, Muslim groups "control information and how it is processed at senior levels of the CIA, the FBI, the Pentagon, and the various branches of the military."

Video: TV Host Exposes Pamela Geller's Anti-Muslim Bigotry
SIOA is an Anti-Muslim Hate Group

Another SIOA co-founder, Robert Spencer, has been identified by the independent national media watch group Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) 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."

Geller and Spencer also co-founded another hate group, American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), with an individual who says he is an admirer of the founder of two terrorist organizations and advocated mass murder.

SEE: Pam Geller Linked Anti-Muslim Activist Calls for Mass Murder of Congressmen, Muslims, Liberals and Journalists

In an Internet profile, AFDI founder John Joseph Jay 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.

SEE: John Joseph Jay's Page
Terrorist Organizations

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.]

SEE: SIOA Co-Founder: Kill Your Liberal Relatives and All Muslims

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.