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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAIR-OK Asks Edmond Church to Drop Anti-Islam Agenda
Scheduled speaker claims President Obama is Muslim, Muslims worship devil

(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, 3/7/2012) -- The Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK) today called on a church in that state to drop its anti-Islam agenda, citing the Islamophobic views of a church speaker who claims that President Barak Obama is an undercover Saudi Arabian "Muslim plant" in the White House.

The keynote speaker of tonight’s event at Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, Okla., is Avi Lipkin, an infamous Islamophobe who alleges among other things that Muslims worship the devil and that all Muslims want to kill Christians and Jews.

SEE: Fairview Baptist Church Special Event
Video: Avi Lipkin Claims Obama is a Muslim, Will Destroy America
Video: Is Barack Obama Really A Saudi/Muslim 'Plant' in the White House?

"This kind of bigotry and hysteria only serves to fuel the growing chorus of anti-Muslim sentiment that is unfortunately spreading in the Heartland," said CAIR-OK Executive Director Muneer Awad. "We respectfully request that the church drop this speaker and other hate-mongers, and offer it's congregants a sincere opportunity for dialogue and information about Islam and Muslims."

Awad said Fairview Baptist Church is known for hosting anti-Muslim speakers such as William Boykin, who recently withdrew from a speaking event at West Point Military Academy after concerns over his remarks that Islam does not deserve religious protections under the First Amendment, and Bridgette Gabriel, who paid tens of thousands of dollars to conduct robocalls in Oklahoma in 2010 to allege Muslim men rape their wives.

SEE: Retired General Removed From West Point Talk
SEE: Bridgette Gabriel Uses Anti-Sharia Hysteria to Raise Money

Gabriel, who is scheduled to speak at the Edmond church in April, claims a "practicing Muslim who believes the word of the Koran to be the word of Allah, who abides by Islam, who goes to mosque and prays every Friday, who prays five times a day -- this practicing Muslim, who believes in the teachings of the Koran, cannot be a loyal citizen to the United States of America."

View an image of the original article here.

In 2011 the FBI reported that hate crimes against American Muslims increased by fifty percent.

SEE: Hate Crimes Against American Muslims Surge With Rise of Anti-Muslim Sentiment

A number of recent reports have documented the growth and promotion of Islamophobia nationwide.

CAIR: Same Hate, New Target
Center for American Progress: Fear, Inc.
Southern Poverty Law Center: Jihad Against Islam
People for the American Way: The Right-Wing Playbook on Anti-Muslim Extremism

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.

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