(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/18/16) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the Republic Party to disinvite notorious Dutch Islamophobe Geert Wilders from its national convention in Cleveland.
Wilders noted last night on Twitter that he had arrived to attend the convention at the invitation of the Tennessee Republican Party.
SEE: Dutch Politician Who Says the Quran is Worse Than Mein Kampf is Attending the RNC
Ketron Takes Islamophobe Geert Wilders to RNC
Wilders claims that “Islam is not a religion” and “the right to religious freedom should not apply to Islam.” He has clearly stated: “I hate Islam.” Wilders is also notorious for campaigning to ban Muslim immigration, the Quran, Muslim headscarves, and Islamic schools in the Netherlands.
Southern Poverty Law Center: Dutch Lawmaker Brings His Anti-Muslim Spiel to U.S.
In his home country, Wilders was put on trial for allegedly inciting hatred against the Dutch Moroccan minority. That trial has been postponed until September.
SEE: Dutch Far-Right Leader Geert Wilders Goes on Trial for Inciting Hatred
“The Republican Party should not be importing foreign anti-Muslim bigots at a time when it should instead be addressing the growing Islamophobia within its own ranks,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
Earlier today, CAIR held a news conference at the site of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, to challenge the anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim stance of the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump and of other party officials and representatives.
CAIR’s news conference was livestreamed on its Facebook page.
Full Video: Muslims Challenge GOP Islamophobia at Cleveland Convention
Video: CAIR Challenges Trump’s Anti-Immigrant, Anti-Muslim Stance at GOP Conventionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkXZsrkOJy0
At the press conference, CAIR distributed free packets of “ISLAMOPHOBIN,” a mock-medicine designed to “cure” Islamophobia. (NOTE: ISLAMOPHOBIN is actually sugar-free-chewing gum.)
SEE: CAIR Launches Satirical ‘ISLAMOPHOBIN’ Public Awareness Campaign to Challenge Anti-Muslim Bigotry
CAIR: Muslim Group Spotlights Islamophobia, Distributes ‘Blind Intolerance’ Medicine at RNC
CAIR: Islamic Group Talks of Need for Inclusion Outside of GOP Convention
Last week, CAIR condemned the terror attack in France and also condemned a suggestion by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who responded to the attack by calling for Inquisition-style religious “testing” and possible deportation of “every person here who is of a Muslim background.”
SEE: CAIR Condemns Terror Attack in France, Newt Gingrich’s Call to ‘Test’ and Deport American Muslims
CAIR: Trump Has Made America More Racist. Republicans Are OK With That.
Since the recent attack in France, CAIR has received reports of hate incidents targeting American Muslims and their institutions.
Video: CAIR Seeks Stepped-Up Protection for Mosques After Rhode Island Islamic Center Vandalism
CAIR recently demanded that Donald Trump “stop the bigotry” after he falsely claimed on Fox News that assimilation of American Muslims is “pretty close” to nonexistent and that a “percentage” of American Muslims “want to do what this maniac did in Orlando.” Trump also repeated his call for surveillance of American mosques.
Earlier this year, CAIR said Donald Trump’s continued use of a debunked myth about U.S. Gen. John Pershing executing Muslim prisoners in the Philippines using bullets dipped in pig’s blood was endangering ordinary American Muslims who were already facing a surge in hate.
CAIR has previously stated that Trump’s pig’s blood claim and other instances of his Islamophobic rhetoric, including his calling for a ban on all Muslims entering the United States, his false claim that “Islam hates us,” his refusal to rule out special IDs for American Muslims, and his willingness to consider closing down American mosques place millions of innocent, law-abiding citizens in the American Muslim community at risk.
SEE: CAIR Says Donald Trump’s ‘Hibi-Jabis’ Reply Endangers Muslim Women
CAIR has reported an unprecedented spike in anti-Muslim incidents nationwide since the Paris terror attacks, the San Bernardino shootings and Trump’s bigoted call for a complete ban on Muslims entering the United States.
The Washington-based Muslim civil rights group is asking Muslim community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR’s Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: http://www.cair.com/report
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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CONTACT: CAIR-Cleveland Chapter Executive Director Julia A. Shearson, 216.440.2247, jshearson@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202.744.7726, ihooper@cair.com