(Weasel Zipper)
Can you spot yours truly? (No jokes, please).
On Sunday, February 13, an estimated 1,000-1,500 people showed up at the Yorba Linda Community Center to protest an event hosted by the Islamic Circle of North America, in which the speakers were two known radical imams, Siraj Wahhaj of Brooklyn and Amir Abdel Malik Ali of Oakland. The protest cranked up a few hours before the ICNA dinner began and featured plenty of American flags, some Israeli flags, and several speakers (including yours truly). The event was also covered by the OC Register, KABC News of Los Angeles, and the LA Jewish Journal. Below are some of the reports.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/orange_county&id=7957092
http://www.landofgraciousliving.com/protesters-out-in-force-against-muslim-speakers/
http://www.nocconservatives.org/?p=1331
Many of the attendees were affiliated with ACT for America (Riverside and Orange County chapters). Featured speakers included the mayor of Yorba Linda, three city councilpersons, US Congressman Ed Royce, two rabbis, a young woman from Egypt who had left Islam, one of my activist pals and yours truly. This event was intended to be a protest against radicalism and hate, and in that spirit, none of the speakers said anything objectionable. The ABC news crew began filming the speakers, but switched to another site when the dinner attendees began arriving. The reason is that about 100 protesters had taken up a position near the parking lot (which was barricaded by local police). They began chanting patriotic slogans like, "USA, USA, USA" and "No sharia". There were also some chants of "Go back home", (which I did not care for). I Personally stayed away from that part of the site. Yet, the protest remained peaceful (if noisy), and the police did a good job. Several hours before the event, I spoke with a couple of residents of Yorba Linda who were setting up some posters on the outside sidewalk which I felt were over the top. I asked them to reconsider the posters, but was getting nowhere until a young local pastor prevailed upon them to remove the signs.
ABC News was allowed into the event itself for only a few minutes to get a couple of sound bites of the speakers and an ICNA official speaking like true moderates. The speakers, Siraj Wahhaj and Amir Abdel Malik Ali, are anything but moderates. (I think Ali would actually be offended if you called him a moderate.) If you see the news videos, all you will see is the hundred or so protesters who were chanting at the attendees.
To be sure, the ICNA and their cohorts will label this as some sort of racist event. It was not. Hopefully, this may represent a turning point where the American people state unequivocally that we will not surrender our rights.
I am hoping to add a few more photos and a video of my speech.
Bill Handel on KFI640 (I think his show is the top or one of the top most listened to shows on the radio in Southern California) did a couple minutes coverage of the event on Monday morning.
ReplyDeleteHe was supposed to air an interview with someone not related to the event but the interview fell through so the show had some time and interviewed a reporter who covered the event.
It wasn't great coverage since Handel nor the reporter were not that well prepared or informed about the keynote speakers but if you want to hear it, you can hear the report at
http://www.kfiam640.com/common/podcast/single_page.html?podcast=BillHandel
Glad to see read that you tried to self-police the more fringe members of the protest.
dude its 100-150 people
ReplyDeleteI just watched the KABC report. Why are some people such idiots?
ReplyDeleteWhen people shout thinkgs like, "Go Home" they look just as stupid as Amir Abdel Malik Ali. They make the entire protest look like it is a bunch of unreasonable haters. They become the story, not the keynote speaker who openly supports terrorist organizations.
I wish the author of the article would have elaborated on what was meant by "Many protesters argued that First Amendment rights only go so far." I am not really sure what was meant by that sentence.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteI didn't count. Maybe it was 95 people (Dude).
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI wish they had not done that, but when you get that big a crowd, some are going to say something that the media and/or the other side can jump on. What is sad is that our speakers were not put on the news -and either were their speakers and the complete speeches. I do know that the organizers did everything they could to make it clear that the event should be peaceful and to not make inflammatory statements that would make the whole event look bad.
Gary, when you say you the organizers did everything they could to make it clear that the event should be peaceful I assume you are talking about the protest organizers of the event and not the event organizers themselves.
ReplyDeleteThey didn't invite Malik Ali without knowing what kind of speech he would make. What Malik Ali preaches and what the the Muslim "charity" events sort of cover up is the "true face of Islam"
http://www.islameyat.com/post_details.php?id=3647&cat=35&scat=169
(Link provided by one of the bloggers on the Conservative Coalition site you included)
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Miggie,
ReplyDeleteYes I am talking about the organizers of the protest.
I thought so. Interesting, the organizers of "our" protests stress that it should be peaceful while the Muslim organizers plan how they can break up the event so he "... can't just come in here and say whatever he wants' (MSU email pre-Oren event disruption).
ReplyDelete.
Gary it's not too hard to find you with your "Cubs" hat and 404th shirt.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteHow did you know it was 404th MP co shirt?
I've got one just like it, but my ball hat says "Yankees". Sorry!
ReplyDeleteI saw a video of this event. The look on the children's faces? Uncool, man.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NutFkykjmbM
You shouldn't be so proud.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteObviously that video deserves an honest response. Here is mine. Hours before the event began, I arrived and saw an elderly couple setting out posters on Imperial Hwy. One said, "Muslims are not welcome in Yorba Linda". I beseeched the couple to remove them because that was not the message the organizers of the event wanted to send. The prote4st was not meant to demonize all Muslims. It was also obvious that the media and CAIR et al would hone right in on posters like that. The woman by the way, was an immigrant. I could not persuade them but finally a local pastor who knew them prevailed upon them to remove the posters.
As for the group that splintered off from the demonstration to chant at the people as they arrived, I regret it. When you have a crowd of 1000-1500 people who show up, some have their own agenda. The speeches were going along fine and ABC news was filming the speeches. Yet when the attendees began arriving several dozen saw fit to go to the barrier of the parking lot and began chanting. What I heard (because I stayed away from them) was "USA, USA, USA", "No shariah law" and "Go back home". Obviously other things were said that were not appropriate.
It is also troublesome that children were present for a couple of reasons. First, as you would agree, protesters should have zipped it when they saw children. The other point is that the ICNA knew beforehand that there would be a protest. Why did so many bring their children anyway? For a YOUTube moment perhaps?
I also point out, for what it is worth, that at least one of the women yelling on the bullhorn was herself an immigrant. I happened to speak to her and her husband early in the event, and I knew they could be a problem.
To sum it up, the yelling by those people was regrettable. The planned event itself and the speeches were not the problem.
I was also a speaker. As I said, "I don't hate Muslims. The Muslims I know love America and appreciate the freedoms they enjoy here-which they don't have back home."
Finally, the reason the protest occurred in the first place was not because it was a Muslim gathering. It was because of the nature of the two speakers, Amir Abdel Malik Ali and Siraj Wahhaj, both of whom have a history of radical ties and statements. You will note that the CAIR video doesn't even mention their names. Well they shouldn't.
Ali, who I have heard speak at UC-Irvine many times, has admitted that he is a supporter of Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. He has called suicide bombers in Israel "Heroes" and Martyrs". He has called people like Rupert Murdoch, Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod and others, "Zionist Jews". At UCI last May, he called Jews in the audience and I quote: "You Jews-You'all the new Nazis."
Siraj Wahhaj was listed as a unindicted co-conspirator by US Atty Mary Jo White in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He testified as a character witness for the Blind Sheikh, Omar Abdel Rahman at his terror trial in NY.
He is on video-tape telling his followers not to take non-Muslims as close friends and speaking of Jihad (violent Jihad). He has spoken of converting blacks in prison to Islam so they could return to the inner cities and conduct Jihad with Uzis.
That is why people organized a protest. CAIR won't tell you that.
That some people (a minority) resorted to bad behavior, I regret.
Just as I thought would happen.
ReplyDeleteThe people who shouted go home have become the face of the event.
http://totalbuzz.ocregister.com/2011/03/04/councilwoman-attacks-muslim-speakers/49481/
I'm always amazed at the Muslims' duplicity, as demonstrated by CAIR in their video. The video claims that the event was "... to raise money for women's shelters, and to help relieve homelessness and hunger in the U.S."
ReplyDeleteThey do not even mention the two radical militant speakers at the event. The Muslims who attended came to hear them. According to the article, CAIR acknowledged that the speakers where "considered by some to be controversial ..." That is stated as though the ones who consider the two controversial are the outliers when, in fact, the reverse is true.
We are not going to make any progress until we convince them, with every means available, that those with their odious ideology are the unwelcome outliers. They have to become convinced that they are not going to make inroads in America and that they are making things worse for themselves, their children, and their brethren with their vitriolic anti-American/anti-Semitic hate speakers and subsequent lies about them.
Taqiyya makes them the most prolific and consistent liars in the world. It doesn't make them good liars, only the ones who are unfazed when the truth emerges.
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http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleID=26747&&name=n&&currPage=1&&Active=1
ReplyDeleteCAIR continues to not mention who the keynote speakers at the event.
I agree that there are people in the video that are bigots and have no problem with CAIR shining the light on them.
However, I find this line on their website odd: "We further ask residents and elected officials of Yorba Linda, Orange County and other parts of our nation to speak out against such hateful rhetoric"
Ummm, what about Amir Abdel Malik Ali's rhetoric? Is that acceptable to CAIR?