Conservative Bigots Heckle Muslim Americans Attempting to Sing National Anthem

[jaysabi]

Texas rally by Muslims seeking tolerance disrupted by protesters



A rally at the Texas Capitol on Thursday by Muslims seeking religious tolerance was repeatedly disrupted by a small group of protesters who said the state belonged to followers of Jesus Christ and that Muslims should go back to the Middle East.

During opening remarks at the Texas Muslim Capitol Day event, a Christian activist from Michigan grabbed the microphone from the speaker and said: "I proclaim the name of the Lord Jesus Christ over the capitol of Texas. I stand against Islam."

A group of people who described themselves as Christian activists also heckled the group of about 600 who showed up for the rally. The protesters shouted as the Muslim group sang the national anthem and then tried to interrupt speakers calling for religious tolerance.

Some of the protesters shouted: "Go home. You ain't going to be happy here."

There are about half a million Muslims in Texas, according to some estimates, with many being in the state for several generations.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said no arrests were made at the event.

"As soon as I got to the lectern, that woman came and grabbed the microphone out of my hands. It made us feel a little unsafe," said Ruth Nasrullah, a spokeswoman for the Houston branch of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, which helped arrange the event.

Some U.S. Islamic groups have reported stepped-up harassment since deadly attacks by Islamist gunmen at the offices of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket in Paris this month.

"This reinforces that rhetoric and propaganda about Muslims is really gaining traction," Nasrullah said.

The Texas Legislature was not in session on Thursday, but one lawmaker, Republican state Representative Molly White, wrote on her Facebook page that she had instructed staff members how to manage any person who came into her office from the rally.

"Ask representatives from the Muslim community to renounce Islamic terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our laws. We will see how long they stay in my office," she wrote.

In neighboring Oklahoma, state Representative John Bennett, a Republican, spoke out in January against the Oklahoma chapter of a national Islamic organization, calling on leaders to condemn verses of the Quran.

In September and October, Bennett told media that Islam was a cancer that needed to be "cut out" of America.

----

Conservatives, thanks for being a shining example of the karma America puts out into the world.

[jaysabi]

Related:

Republicans need to learn that Muslim and American are not mutually exclusive

In many parts of the United States, if you want to win an election, you need talking points full of misinformation and bigotry towards Muslims to scare the wits out of non-Muslim Americans in to voting for you (and others to fund your campaign). Events in the Middle East simply provide more fuel to an already-raging fire, and convince officials elected to serve all of their constituents that their inappropriate and bigoted comments will not only go unchallenged but will be applauded.

Take, for example, Texas state Representative Molly White’s idea of southern hospitality: as American Muslim Texans descended on Austin for an Annual Capitol Day to celebrate their civic right to free expression, the freshman Republican posted on Facebook:

Most member including myself are back in district. I did leave an Israeli flag on my desk in my office with instructions to staff to ask representative form the Muslim community to renounce Islamic terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our laws.

A McCarthy-esque welcome to her Muslim constituents by a right-wing politician is disgusting – but White’s not the only Republican to try to convince the general public that American Muslims are not patriotic, do not integrate into society at large and have no idea how to engage the civic process. She’s just the one most lacking in irony, given that she did so while the Muslim Texans she apparently dislikes were engaging in the civic process.

Texas is home to large pockets of American Muslims, many of whom have lived there for decades. And White earned a rebuke from the speaker of the Texas house, who responded to complaints about her actions by saying that “Legislators have a responsibility to treat all visitors just as we expect to be treated – with dignity and respect.”

Still, White this week joined some more famous Republicans in the “Super Bowl of Bigotry”, all vying for the Vince Lombardi Trophy of the Biggest Islamophobe.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal already warned of an extremist Muslim “invasion” and double-downed on the ludicrous and unfounded claims made on Fox News of “no-go zones” where Muslim citizens have supposedly banned Christians from entering. It doesn’t stop there. Potential GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says President Obama gives “special rights” to Muslims while “stomping all over Christians”.

American Muslims are not asking for special treatment or “special rights”– unless by “special rights” he means unwarranted surveillance, secondary screenings at airports and pre-trial solitary confinement. If so, then on behalf of American Muslims: please revoke those rights. We’re happy to let them go.

Bigotry against American Muslims from inside the Republican party is not a new phenomenon. Beginning in 2010, Islam became a major wedge issue in partisan politics, fueled by Congress members like Allen West, Louie Gohmert, Joe Walsh, Michelle Bachmann (dubbed the “Islamophobia Caucus”) and supported by former House speaker and one-time presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. Politicians across the country have made their careers and gotten campaign donations – and gotten their otherwise unknown mugs on Fox News – by vilifying and spewing hate against Muslims. Although their views once represented a lunatic fringe of their party, Republicans learned to tolerate a certain level of hate from within their ranks rather than marginalizing these politicians’ voices. And now, like cockroaches, they’ve spread out and spawned more.

This vitriolic rhetoric cannot be left unchecked because the sentiments displayed informs policies that directly impact American Muslims (as well as other faith communities). Anti-sharia legislation has been introduced in 32 states, and these unconstitutional laws, which prohibit the free expression of religion, have actually passed in multiple states – including North Carolina, Alabama and Arizona.

Meanwhile, American Muslims continue to build civic and electoral power. From serving on state party committees in California to founding the first-ever Muslim Democratic Club in New York City (dedicated to electing Muslims on all levels of government across the nation, which I co-founded and of which I am currently the president), American Muslims are an emerging political bloc. We are not waiting for validation from bigoted politicians or to pass tests of our allegiance from the likes of White – and we will respond to bigotry, regardless of party affiliation. As the 2016 elections quickly approach, we as voters expect real debates on issues impacting all Americans: the economy, education, healthcare and national security. It is our responsibility to keep elected officials and candidates accountable to all the people they serve; that is how we pledge our allegiance.

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The only reason bigots like this are allowed to serve office is because there is an absence of decent people in their districts who will call out their reprehensible behavior and attitudes. America is better than this, and we deserve to be represented by better than this.

[Lethn]

Christian and social-conservatives really do just irrationally hate anything that doesn't involve their religion don't they? This is the final proof for me, I bet even if those muslims signed up to the army and shot at ISIS they'd still treat them like shit.

By the way, the sign on the far right made me lol.

[Spendulus]

Christian and social-conservatives really do just irrationally hate anything that doesn't involve their religion don't they? This is the final proof for me, I bet even if those muslims signed up to the army and shot at ISIS they'd still treat them like shit.

By the way, the sign on the far right made me lol.

Wait, you mean conservatives picketed and protested against the terrorist group CAIR, right? 

http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/12/01/the-uae-finally-exposes-cair-as-a-terrorist-organization/

[pedrog]

Religious wars are nothing new, and probably we will see a lot of those in the future.

They [christians] are stupid enough to play their["radical islam"] game, ostracize normal muslins so it becomes easy for these groups["radical islam"] to recruit. Same thing in France...

[Chef Ramsay]

Christian and social-conservatives really do just irrationally hate anything that doesn't involve their religion don't they? This is the final proof for me, I bet even if those muslims signed up to the army and shot at ISIS they'd still treat them like shit.

By the way, the sign on the far right made me lol.

These people watch Fox News all night and it's filled w/ non-stop terrorist stuff so that's pretty much all that's on their minds. More so, it's a christian vs muslim thing when it's all boiled down. I say the extremists on both sides need to be dealt with and/or ostracized in a large way by the more mainstream elements in order to keep an even keel. Problem is, the US' foreign policy has ginned up, funded and trained these extremist elements in islam in order to have a constant enemy abroad which keeps the people calling for more money to be spent to keep them safe and thus the military industrial complex wins out every time.

[Spendulus]

They [christians] are stupid enough to play their["radical islam"] game, ostracize normal muslins so it becomes easy for these groups["radical islam"] to recruit. Same thing in France...

BY this logic a Christian values group protesting outside a strip club would cause more girls to become strippers.

And a Christian group protesting against inadequate fire trucks and funding for a city would cause more fires.

This is about as much about "tolerance" as Islam is about "peace."

Let's correct the thread title, okay?

Conservatives Protest Terrorist Organization, CAIR, holding meeting at Texas Capitol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMEVpP7DT9E

[Lethn]

Christians still believe in all sorts of medieval and intolerant bullshit, they are hardly in the right as much as Muslims, the thing that pisses me off the most about all of this is that we're supposed to fucking respect people who are a bunch of intolerent cunts and often act on it, I'm not talking about protesting but the active subversion of the law and the murder of people they disagree with. Sure, you rant about homosexuality being a sin and the earth being 5000 years old or how women shouldn't be allowed to do anything without a man's permission, but if you act on it and try to enforce your doctrine out in the real world then you and I will have a problem.

[pedrog]

They [christians] are stupid enough to play their["radical islam"] game, ostracize normal muslins so it becomes easy for these groups["radical islam"] to recruit. Same thing in France...

BY this logic a Christian values group protesting outside a strip club would cause more girls to become strippers.

And a Christian group protesting against inadequate fire trucks and funding for a city would cause more fires.

This is about as much about "tolerance" as Islam is about "peace."

Let's correct the thread title, okay?

Conservatives Protest Terrorist Organization, CAIR, holding meeting at Texas Capitol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMEVpP7DT9E

Here: http://boingboing.net/2015/01/08/sharpening-the-contradictions.html

[Spendulus]

Christians still believe in all sorts of medieval and intolerant bullshit, they are hardly in the right as much as Muslims, the thing that pisses me off the most about all of this is that we're supposed to fucking respect people who are a bunch of intolerent cunts and often act on it, I'm not talking about protesting but the active subversion of the law and the murder of people they disagree with. Sure, you rant about homosexuality being a sin and the earth being 5000 years old or how women shouldn't be allowed to do anything without a man's permission, but if you act on it and try to enforce your doctrine out in the real world then you and I will have a problem.

That's not me, since I'm an atheist.  Mostly.

But I think what you are saying is that both Xtians and Mussies pretty much piss you off?

[Spendulus]

They [christians] are stupid enough to play their["radical islam"] game, ostracize normal muslins so it becomes easy for these groups["radical islam"] to recruit. Same thing in France...

BY this logic a Christian values group protesting outside a strip club would cause more girls to become strippers.

And a Christian group protesting against inadequate fire trucks and funding for a city would cause more fires.

This is about as much about "tolerance" as Islam is about "peace."

Let's correct the thread title, okay?

Conservatives Protest Terrorist Organization, CAIR, holding meeting at Texas Capitol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMEVpP7DT9E

Here: http://boingboing.net/2015/01/08/sharpening-the-contradictions.html

That's a very perceptive article and does in fact illustrate a primary method of muslims, which is to evoke their appearance as victims.  I note in going through Youtubes, that they did this 2 years ago at the Texas Capital.  So we should expect it on a regular basis.

Any group of Muslims is welcome to come to the Texas Capitol and do whatever they want, and if they start by emphasizing sincerely that they do not support violence, I am certain that even groups that came there to protest would be very impressed.

But....they won't....

[Lethn]

Christians still believe in all sorts of medieval and intolerant bullshit, they are hardly in the right as much as Muslims, the thing that pisses me off the most about all of this is that we're supposed to fucking respect people who are a bunch of intolerent cunts and often act on it, I'm not talking about protesting but the active subversion of the law and the murder of people they disagree with. Sure, you rant about homosexuality being a sin and the earth being 5000 years old or how women shouldn't be allowed to do anything without a man's permission, but if you act on it and try to enforce your doctrine out in the real world then you and I will have a problem.

That's not me, since I'm an atheist.  Mostly.

But I think what you are saying is that both Xtians and Mussies pretty much piss you off?

Yup, it's like watching Republicans and Democrats try to blame each other for fucking up their country.

[Spendulus]

Christians still believe in all sorts of medieval and intolerant bullshit, they are hardly in the right as much as Muslims, the thing that pisses me off the most about all of this is that we're supposed to fucking respect people who are a bunch of intolerent cunts and often act on it, I'm not talking about protesting but the active subversion of the law and the murder of people they disagree with. Sure, you rant about homosexuality being a sin and the earth being 5000 years old or how women shouldn't be allowed to do anything without a man's permission, but if you act on it and try to enforce your doctrine out in the real world then you and I will have a problem.

That's not me, since I'm an atheist.  Mostly.

But I think what you are saying is that both Xtians and Mussies pretty much piss you off?

Yup, it's like watching Republicans and Democrats try to blame each other for fucking up their country.

Just for kicks and grins, you might want to check out if a full copy of this supposed confrontation is available, then evaluate if it is a contrived and false news story intended to portray the CAIR group as the victims.

You might be being played like a fiddle.

Manipulating public views was about all Yassir Arafat even did well....

[Lethn]

Oh please, I don't trust either of them, as people accuse Matriarchs ( fake feminists ) of being, these groups are professional victims and they do an excellent job of getting powerful people on their side because of it.

[jaysabi]

Any group of Muslims is welcome to come to the Texas Capitol and do whatever they want, and if they start by emphasizing sincerely that they do not support violence, I am certain that even groups that came there to protest would be very impressed.

Nothing more American than gathering to sing the national anthem and talk about getting more people involved in government. The Christian bigots there were determined to not let that happen. Your certainty that a group of bigots would keep an open mind is unconvincing. The picture of the crusaders says it all:



What a fine group of open-minded individuals these must be!

[Spendulus]

Any group of Muslims is welcome to come to the Texas Capitol and do whatever they want, and if they start by emphasizing sincerely that they do not support violence, I am certain that even groups that came there to protest would be very impressed.

Nothing more American than gathering to sing the national anthem and talk about getting more people involved in government. The Christian bigots there were determined to not let that happen. Your certainty that a group of bigots would keep an open mind is unconvincing. The picture of the crusaders says it all:



What a fine group of open-minded individuals these must be!

Hmm....

Are you implying that this was not a LEGAL counter protest?  It doesn't matter what their signs say, actually I find them somewhat funny.

Your argument is full of exaggeration and innuendo, isn't it?

The Christian bigots
a group of bigots
picture of the crusaders

The simple fact is that CAIR, a known terrorist organization, organized an event at the Texas Capitol and they got called on it, in a counter protest.  The signs are actually kind of funny-

radical islam is the new nazi
us border -you are entering a sharia free zone
go home and take obama with you

Nobody was arrested, so I'm not seeing any significant interference existed. 

Unless you are also going to suggest the Capitol police were in on the conspiracy?

[jaysabi]

Any group of Muslims is welcome to come to the Texas Capitol and do whatever they want, and if they start by emphasizing sincerely that they do not support violence, I am certain that even groups that came there to protest would be very impressed.

Nothing more American than gathering to sing the national anthem and talk about getting more people involved in government. The Christian bigots there were determined to not let that happen. Your certainty that a group of bigots would keep an open mind is unconvincing. The picture of the crusaders says it all:



What a fine group of open-minded individuals these must be!

Hmm....

Are you implying that this was not a LEGAL counter protest?  It doesn't matter what their signs say, actually I find them somewhat funny.

Your argument is full of exaggeration and innuendo, isn't it?

The Christian bigots
a group of bigots
picture of the crusaders

The simple fact is that CAIR, a known terrorist organization, organized an event at the Texas Capitol and they got called on it, in a counter protest.  The signs are actually kind of funny-

radical islam is the new nazi
us border -you are entering a sharia free zone
go home and take obama with you

Nobody was arrested, so I'm not seeing any significant interference existed.  

Unless you are also going to suggest the Capitol police were in on the conspiracy?

1) Never implied anything about illegal counter protest; the counter protest is perfectly legal I'm assuming on the basis that no protest should ever be illegal. I'm just remarking on the disgrace of a bunch of bigots who are proud of how bigoted they are.
2) These people aren't protesting CAIR. They're protesting Muslims. The signs make it plain exactly who their target is, and why they're protesting. Note the total lack of mentions of CAIR, in fact, I'd be surprised if any of those yokels pictured even know what CAIR stands for. They're just proud to be there doing the lord's work of yelling at people with a different god than them.
3) Apparently in your world, the interference of an event is only evidenced by arrests. How drole!
4) My argument is full of innuendo, yes, and plenty of judgment. But exaggeration, no. Bigots gonna bigot, and I'm gonna call them on it, because they're a disgrace to this country. But you're perfectly free to continue defending the bottom feeders as noble folk. After all, if they didn't have the admiration of like-minded folks somewhere, they might be shamed into being decent, or at least quiet.

The simple fact is that CAIR, a commonly alleged terrorist organization by conservative and christian groups, organized an event at the Texas Capitol, which sparked a counter protest by christian and conservative activists.

FTFY

Btw, the signs are funny, but probably not in the way you think, and more of a I can't believe there are actually people who are so misguided kinda way. That woman on the right... classic conservative!

[jaysabi]

And here's one of the counter protesters not interfering with the event to spread her very unbigoted message:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpuhYSyb8yY

[Spendulus]

And here's one of the counter protesters not interfering with the event to spread her very unbigoted message:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpuhYSyb8yY

I said this...
   
The simple fact is that CAIR, a known terrorist organization, organized an event at the Texas Capitol and they got called on it, in a counter protest.  The signs are actually kind of funny-

You changed it to this...

Quote from: Spendulus on January 31, 2015, 10:01:37 PM
The simple fact is that CAIR, a commonly alleged terrorist organization by conservative and christian groups, organized an event at the Texas Capitol, which sparked a counter protest by christian and conservative activists.

But you changed what I said without indicating that you had done so.  Would have been nice if you'd just indicated you were making a change to what you thought. 

Because I wasn't talking about it being so called by conservative groups.

Somehow you seem convinced the counter protesters are "bigots".   But I am not seeing the evidence of that.  It's simply hard to dislike CAIR, a known terrorist organization, and be a bigot, you see.

From Wikipedia-
Bigotry is a state of mind where a person strongly, obstinately, irrationally, unfairly or intolerantly dislikes other people, ideas, etc.

OK.  Now let's go to your "evidence."

This shows the blond lady talking, and the microphone being rudely taken away from here.
How very rude!  She didn't push or shove anyone, and they denied her freedom of speech!

Let's look at what you asserted in post #2:

This vitriolic rhetoric cannot be left unchecked because the sentiments displayed informs policies that directly impact American Muslims (as well as other faith communities). Anti-sharia legislation has been introduced in 32 states, and these unconstitutional laws, which prohibit the free expression of religion, have actually passed in multiple states – including North Carolina, Alabama and Arizona.



Now this is pretty weird.  Anti-sharia legislation is certainly constitutional.  But to you, apparently it is the reverse?

[jaysabi]

But you changed what I said without indicating that you had done so.  Would have been nice if you'd just indicated you were making a change to what you thought.  

Hahaha, mate, I pointed out plainly I was changing the quote. FTFY = Fixed That For You. It's used to indicate someone altered a quote to make it more accurate. In this case, I was making it reflect reality. You missed the joke. The point was you're stating as fact something that isn't.

From Wikipedia-
Bigotry is a state of mind where a person strongly, obstinately, irrationally, unfairly or intolerantly dislikes other people, ideas, etc.

See, my point is they're not protesting CAIR. They don't reference CAIR in signs or speech. They are protesting a gathering of Muslims. That's why they're bigots, as evidenced by the definition you quoted.

This shows the blond lady talking, and the microphone being rudely taken away from here.
How very rude!  She didn't push or shove anyone, and they denied her freedom of speech!

The woman was not invited to speak at the podium. She is using someone else's equipment without permission, which is inherently a use of force. To the extent anyone responds to take the property that does not belong to her away, it's self defense. They didn't deny her speech, they denied her access to their property. She was perfectly free to shout her hate speech without their microphone, but she wanted to make sure she was the center of attention. Mission accomplished!

Anti-sharia legislation is certainly constitutional.

Anti-sharia legislation is redundant on the grounds that the government can't enforce any religion in the first place, or the laws any religion has. Any law that attempts to tell a religious community what rules can govern its own religion is unconstitutional, whether it be sharia law with arbitrary rules for Muslims within the Islamic faith, or the arbitrary Christian rules they impose upon themselves.