A Summer Night For Human Rights

Last night, I attended a three-hour event held at the Marriott Hotel in Manhattan Beach, California. It was hosted by Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) and the American Freedom Defense Initiative. It was called, "A Summer Night for Human Rights" The event was organized by Pam Geller and Robert Spencer. There were well over a hundred people in attendance. The speakers were:

Nonie Darwish
Walid Shoebat
Ibn Warraq
Ramin Parsha
Mohammed Asghar
Bushra Qader
Amani Mustafa
Ishmali Zarouali

Wafa Sultan was also scheduled, but was ill.


Coincidentally, a few blocks down the street, CAIR was hosting something called "A Summer night for Civil Rights", featuring comedy and other forms of  entertainment. Tickets were up to $100 apiece. Our event was free.

The event I attended also had a more serious tone. The evening featured talks by 8 people from various countries, all of whom had been born Muslim, but became apostates. They did so at considerable price. Virtually all of them had been living under death threats, fatwas, and one was actually stabbed multiple times and nearly died from his wounds.

Ms Geller opened the evening by informing the audience that she had been contacted by the police (considerable security was present) and told that CAIR had contacted them (police) expressing concern about the Geller event and that they were concerned about their own security. Geller told them that since all of the people on their panel had been put under fatwa or other threats, it was our event that they needed to protect.

The first speaker was Nonie Darwish, Egyptian-born apostate, who has written and spoken out against the violence and hate within Islam. She was followed by the below speakers:

Another Egypian woman, Amani Mustafa, told of when she was a child seeing her mother convert to Christianity and being told by an imam that she had three months to return to Islam or she would be killed. Her mother refused and was able to leave Egypt for America having to leave her daughter behind with her father. Eventually, the speaker was able to leave Egypt with her two children and come to America, where she now lives. She told of having to move several times around the country to escape being murdered-here in the US, no less. She now operates a Christian ministry.

Meanwhile, down the street, CAIR was hosting "A Summer Evening for Civil Rights".

Walid Shoebat, a former Jihadist himself fighting against Israel, gave his story of conversion to Christianity. He had nothing kind to say about Islam and outlined the design of Jihadists to make Islam supreme here in the US and take away our liberties. He stated emphatically to a roar of applause that our constitution is, indeed superior to Sharia law. Shoebat is a dymnaic speaker and his speech drew the loudest applause, a standing ovation.

Ishmael Zarouali, a young Moroccan man, told of converting to Christianity while studying in France. He was warned by his friends not to return to Morocco, but did. One night, he was abducted off the streets by 4 men who took him to a room and demanded to know why he had left Islam. He was stabbed multiple times and left for dead. He awoke in a hospital. Subsequently, many of his friends, who did not know of his conversion, held a celebration for him and praised Allah that he survived. Little did they know, according to Zarouali,  that the attempt on his life was made in the name of Allah.

Meanwhile, down the street, CAIR was hosting "A Summer Evening for Civil Rights".

Bushra Qader, an Iraqi apostate dentist, who spoke limited English, told of how, while living in Dubai, her daughter had to be taken out of school because she was thought to be a Christian.

Ibn Warraq, an apostate who was born in India and moved with his family to Karachi after the India-Pakistan partition, also spoke. He is the author of "Why I am not a Muslim". Not long ago, Warraq participated in a debate with Islamic intellectual Tarik Ramadan in England, whom he described as a "master dissembler". He told us a humorous anecdote when referring to Ramadan's call for a moratorium on stoning (emphasis mine). He told the panel and the audience that rather be stoned for committing adultery, he would prefer to get stoned- then commit adultery.

Virtually all of the speakers told of their love for America and the ability to practice whatever religion they wished. Here was a group of people from Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, Morocco, Bangladesh, and Iran all telling the audience about the hate and intolerance they experienced in their homelands because they had left Islam and the appreciation of the freedoms they enjoy today-even though they still get threats.

But why go on? Here is the video of the event, with photos courtesy of Atlas Shrugs.

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2012/06/sro-in-defense-of-freedom-ex-muslims-finally-heard.html

I know it is 3 hours long, but you need to hear these stories. Then think about that event CAIR was holding at the same time down the street called "A Summer Night for Civil Rights".