Then the conversation got really bizarre. The CBS Outdoor rep told me: “The people behind the new building” – again, that’s the mega-mosque – “say it has nothing to do with Ground Zero.”
FP: That’s interesting. Nothing to do with Ground Zero? I wonder how that fits with Daisy Khan, wife of the Ground Zero mosque imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, saying:
“I think the building came to us, which goes to show that there is a symbolism there, and that there’s a divine hand in it. That it’s so close to the tragedy, that its close proximity is very symbolic for the fact that we really want to reverse what happened on 9/11.”
Geller: That’s right, Jamie. The mosque organizers themselves have linked the building to 9/11, yet the MTA forbade FDI to make the same link. So I said to the CBS rep: “So what? That’s what they say. Others think differently. You are telling me they have said it has nothing to do with Ground Zero. But they are on record repeatedly as saying they want it there for Ground Zero ‘healing’ and ‘outreach.’” And I added: “Who cares what they say? What do they (the Ground Zero mosque Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his wife Daisy Khan) have to do with running my ad? They dictate what can and cannot run?”
He said, “It’s controversial.”
I said, “How? Where are the guidelines that point to this, where are the guidelines that I have been asking for over a month? Give me the guidelines and I will adhere to them.”
But no guidelines were coming. He said: “I have been having a hard time getting the guidelines out of the MTA.”
I said, “A hard time? Aren’t they written somewhere or posted somewhere? What are they? And what’s controversial? The ad merely says, ‘Why there?’”
He said, “You are implying –”
I said, “Implying what? You are now going to tell me what I am thinking? Who is making these decisions? Who at the MTA or CBS is making these decisions? The MTA is a government agency — and you can’t provide me with guidelines but I am being held hostage to the capricious whim of some flak at the MTA? I am an advertiser. I bought and paid for an ad a month ago and you cannot point me to any substance or set of rules for the basis of ad rejection. I took out the plane as requested — now what’s the problem?”
The CBS Outdoor representative said, “The flames.” He said he was “meeting obstacles” but he was “trying to help me.” He said, “Get me an ad asap without smoke, without any flames — just the towers.”
So I told him I would create another ad with just the towers. He said, “Before you do that, let me run down the hall and ask if that’s okay” – with the Vice President of the company.
Apparently, it was. So I had the smoke removed and submitted this ad:
But then CBS, on behalf of the MTA, said, “Remove the plane.”
And so I submitted another planeless ad, stating emphatically:
“I object to this censorship, which is effectively editing the viewpoint I am attempting to express in my message, but if this is the only choice you are giving me, then run the ad without the plane. It’s a plane in the sky, far removed. Planes do fly in the sky.”
FP: Wow, let me guess, you filed suit somewhere around this point, right?
Geller: You’ve got that right, Jamie. Last Friday, my legal team of David Yerushalmi and Robert Muise filed suit on our behalf against New York City. The complaint alleged violation of FDI’s, Robert Spencer’s and my free speech rights. It charged that the MTA had decided to accept the claim of the pro-Sharia Ground Zero Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, that their mega-mosque had nothing to do with marking the jihadist “victory” of September 11, 2001. In other words, the MTA was now deciding which viewpoints were politically correct enough to appear on its buses.
I think David Yerushalmi explained the significance of the suit very ably when he said:
“What makes this jihad against free speech so egregious is that the MTA has run any number of controversial religious and political ads without batting an eyelid. But as soon as the Shariah-faithful cowed Mayor Bloomberg and the MTA into dhimmi-like submission, the First Amendment to the Constitution gave way to Shariah’s blasphemy laws. How long before the Mayor’s office begins issuing fatwas against those who dare counter the ‘noble and peaceful outreach’ narrative?”
He also added:
“Mr. Mayor and your colleagues at the MTA and the Landmark Commission: New Yorkers will not forget 9-11 and we will not be cowed into submission or silence. You might not want to hear our voices, but the federal courts will require you to listen. You claim the mantle of the Constitution as a basis for supporting a Shariah-Islamist mosque at Ground Zero, yet the MTA—a government agency of the City—cavalierly denies ‘infidels’ freedom of speech. Enough is enough.”
FP: What about New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg? What has been his position in all this?
Geller: Jamie, it seems to me that Bloomberg invokes certain freedoms only when they serve his 2012 agenda – and freedom of speech is not high on his list. Doing away with term limits wasn’t enough (which is why we are still suffering under his no-salt, no-transfat regime). He is now widening his ayatollah-like power grab to imposing blasphemy laws (Islamic sharia laws) on the secular marketplace. Bloomberg’s frenzied Ground Zero mosque push may have inspired Al-Azhar clerics to oppose the Ground Zero Mosque, calling it a “a zionist plot.”
FP: Pamela Geller, we are out of time. Congratulations on your victory — which is our victory, or should I say, the victory of those who care about freedom. What a disgrace it is that it has to take courageous private citizens like you to stand up for liberty in this country — while so many in positions of power sit around doing nothing and fretting over bruising the sensitivities of those who wish to do us harm and are doing us harm. You have many more battles to fight. Thank you for fighting them and we’ll behind you every step of the way.
Islamic State of North America by 2050?
Islamicism is like cancer; you either defeat it or it will defeat you… The real war is not against a bunch of terrorists, but rather of the values of democracy and freedom against the values of barbarism. “The battleground is that of ideas and ideologies, but the West hasn’t even woken up to the fact that this battleground exists.” – Melanie Phillips, author of Londonistan. “Islam is coming to America the same way Christianity came to Rome… whether they like it or not. We talk about the Islamic State of North America by 2050… The people of Hamas and Hizbullah are good people; they don’t deserve condemnation, they do good things…” – Imam Abdul Musa of Washington, D.C. More at : http://israelagainstterror.blogspot.com/2009/08/i…
I read that there is a "pool" in the Mosque. Will women be discriminated against and if so, will feminist groups protest?
No, because in the game of destroying all standards and tearing down the bastions of Western Civilization from within, Islam has the ability to do more damage than feminism does. Not to say that I do not believe in equal rights for women (how can I not, I am female), but feminism as used by the Left is not used to propagate equality of the sexes, but rather the idea that females are "victims" of males and thus the requirements of objective Western standards must be lessened or neutralized in order to accomodate them.
As a practical matter, could we get a campaign asking contractors and workers to refuse to be involved with this offensive project — whether that means supplying materials, labor or services? I think most New Yorkers would not want to build the platform on which they will dance on our graves, would they?
Thanks Pamela, you are very courageous and a real freedom fighter. If I lived in NY I would be on the streets protesting as often as I could. What an outrage. You liberals really are dummies. You dont realize that in your attempt to look unbiased you play right into the enemies hands. These people dont care about America, or freedom, or democracy, they want victory and conquest.
Sometimes I wonder whether I would be willing to give my life for another moment of national clarity such as Americans experienced on 9/12/01,
Not unless it has a hope of restoring Constitutional law. Until then, keep living and keep fighting.
I still think that ad should show the smoke from the burning, soon-to-collapse World Trade Center towers after the planes hit them.
Great idea: Buildings falling as construction of a building is going up. "From ashes rises a (fill in the blank). Or "From ashes to (fill in the blank). Something like that.
Three cheers for the victory, but I still believe you guys are missing a great opportunity to expose Islam for what it really is, which is a totalitarian theo-political ideology that has as its main goal the subjugation of the world via the imposition of Sharia, and no such ideology is protected by the first amendment of the constitution or any other amendment for that matter. Hence, not only the ground zero supremacist mega mosque should be blocked, but every one of them should be blocked as well since this isn’t a religious freedom issue.
Wars are fought one battle at a time. Gellar and Co. are not "missing" an opportunity; as I see it, they are using strategy to accomplish their goals. However, I couldn't agree with you more abut banning mosques. Someone is going to have to come up with a legal argument to prove that Islam is an ideology, not a religion, and therefore, not protected. Could it be linked to Shintoism, and the worship of the Japanese emperor, which was banned after World War? (At least, worship of the emperor was, I read.) I don't know enough about it; I'm just hoping someone who does know about it comes up with a legal argument that sticks.
I truly fear that we are becoming as England and others, bending to every possible perception of slight against the very ones who are so blatantly anti everything outside of their totalitarian mandates!
They move into an area and demand acquiescence to their desires and phobias of all perceived resistance to their sick beliefs!
Pamela Geller deserves a medal. If the planned mega Mosque was instead a large Christian Cathedral there would be no controversy.
The whole world connects Islam with 911. To deny the connection is no different than calling a circle square. The cry to "Remember the Alamo" should pale compared to the cry to "remember 911" . I suggest that on 9/11/2010 every man, women and child in the United States go outside and yell at the top of their lungs the war cry "Remember 911" "Remember the Towers" seven times. Every employer and school should let their people step outside and scream this battle cry. Who are these people that try so hard to make us all forget our enemy and the people they killed on 911 ?www.ShoutRemember911.com
Honor the dead. Honor their memories. FDNY your sacrifices will not be forgotten. In Memory of the Fallen. Honor the families of those who were burned alive, who experienced the terror of impending death in jets and in the buildings. Get involved. Sign the petition. Contact your representatives. Thanks so much to Pam Geller and Brigitte Gabrielle.
With the placing of a mosque Islam shall also claim the history of that sacred spot and distort it to their liking.
Look at the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul leaving no trace of Christian Constantinople and Byzantine or the Dome of the Rock mosque denying the existence ever of a Jewish temple.
I would like to see the 9/11 picture of the firemen and the American flag, statement —
after 9/11 Bloomberg picture with his picture in arab attire– then the firemen and
flag picture but the flag is now the Islamic crescent moon with Thank You Bloomberg.
Of course there are many combinations of curse for this disgusting rat that could go
with it but we must remember school children ride the buses. I do not know how
he is kept safe from the Police and Firemen of NYC, in my day they would have made
this leftist disappear………….Send him to Mecca in a pig skin……………
"OINK"—— Obviously I'me not kidding"…………………………………William
Thank you for this excellent interview. Kudos to Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer and their allies for fighting for American values and freedom.
Um, how is this a "victory"? Filing a suit is a victory? Don't you actually have to have the case accepted, go to court, then win before you can legitimately claim victory?
trickyblain: Please read the first few paragraphs of this interview. On Monday, the MTA agreed to run the ad as was originally submitted.
Ah. Thanks. My bad!
Whay isn't there a lawsuit against the City of New York on behalf of the church asking for equalt treatment ? They have a compelling case and the 5:4 split in the HIgh Court would work in their favor should it go that far .
Besides , it would put the breaks on the mosque until it's settled.
Congratulations Pamela. You are a true patriot. Thank you for all of all of your hard work. Ditto to Mr. Glazov's last comments.
Why isn't there hate crimes being filed against these people who call for Israel and America to be destroyed?? If anyone else were saying such things they would either 'disappear' or land in prison. That's what needs to happen to these people!!
Never submit.
If they don't build it, then some nutjob won't be able to blow it up some day.
Why can't this be done to STOP this mosque? Bury a PIG where they intend to build it.
http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/how-to-stop… http://grendelreport.posterous.com/ground-zero-mo…
I like that idea…. how about a big pot of pork n beans also!
I plan on running for president in 2048 so.. I PROMISE THIS NATION THE WILL BE NO ISLAMIC STATE! and Lets put a HUGE christian Church where the towers were? then the Islam's will protest… i say they will!! but we will never let them put a mosque as americans, we are fight, true fighters! What would George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or John Adams Say about this ask yourself?
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