Hamas-linked CAIR blocks Spencer talk on Muhammad -- but only temporarily

Coming soon to a self-respecting bookstore near you

Here is a useful summary of Hamas-linked CAIR's latest attempt to compel non-Muslims to abide by Sharia rules regarding speech about Muhammad and Islam, Kramer Levin's dhimmitude, and the commitment that a small but indefatigable number of people still have to truth and free inquiry: "CAIR Blocks Discussion of Islam – But Only Temporarily," from IPT News, April 5:

Efforts by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to squash a lecture by writer Robert Spencer have been thwarted.

Spencer originally planned to speak April 18 at the New York law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel about his forthcoming book, Did Muhammad Exist? The talk was sponsored by the Middle East Forum (MEF), headed by Daniel Pipes.

CAIR issued an action alert March 29 calling on the firm to rescind its invitation, claiming the event would promote "Spencer's claim that Islam's Prophet Muhammad may never have existed." Spencer's book is based on his review of the 130-year scholarly tradition that raises fundamental questions about early Islamic history, including the Muslim prophet, Muhammad.

Kramer Levin yielded to CAIR and rescinded Spencer's invitation. "In this instance, we were not aware of the controversy surrounding the speaker at the April 18^th event," wrote firm Executive Director Nicholas J. Tortorella. "Now having been alerted to the situation, we have withdrawn permission for the event to take place at our offices."

CAIR issued a statement applauding the move. But that victory satisfaction is likely to be short lived, as the Middle East Forum on Thursday issued a second invitation for Spencer's talk. It takes place April 24 at a location in mid-town Manhattan not made public in advance, but provided only to participants.

"The serious and sober discussion of Islam stands at the heart of the Middle East Forum's mission," Pipes said. "Spencer has something important to say; how could we but reschedule his talk? I hope CAIR listens to his talk and learns from it when it is made public on www.MEForum.org."

The Forum's action reminds us that not all organizations are willing to surrender to Islamist intimidation. Bravo to it.

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12 Comments

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John Hardin | April 6, 2012 7:11 AM | Reply

Bravo!

...at a location in mid-town Manhattan not made public in advance, but provided only to participants.

...so it's not a public event?

John C. Barile | April 6, 2012 7:48 AM | Reply

Kudos to you, Great Leader! Please keep those printing presses rolling! (O, yeah--I guess that Islam invented the printing press, too.)

paul collins | April 6, 2012 9:49 AM | Reply

So lets get this right! a Law firm allowed itself to be intimidated by a terrorist supporting organisation.

What sort of tin pot legal firm are they. Who are the partners, Mohhamad, Mohhamad, and mohhamad. Is it a Sharia based legal practise.

Who would hire a legal firm that can't stand up for free speech. If i ever need a lawyer, i think i'll defend myself.

When do islamic hate preachers need to speak in private. They normally just stand in the middle of town burning flags, calling for the down fall of America and threatening to kill all who oppose their twisted ideology.

We have to debate in secrete hideouts. What is going on!!!

American_Exceptionalist | April 6, 2012 10:08 AM | Reply

Robert often talks about "Misunderstanders of Islam." On this, the eve of Passover, it really struck me how a firm filled with "Misundertanders of Judaism" could so misunderstand and pervert the message of freedom and liberation inherent in the Passover story. At the Seder tonight, when the youngest child of one of these "Jews" asks: "Why is this night different from all others nights?" these "Jews" should truthfully answer: "Actually, this night is not different from all other nights because I am not one of the B'nai Horin (Children of Freedom). I am still in bondage in Egypt."

With that in mind, here is the text of an email I sent to the Director of "Diversity" at Kramer Levin along with all the cc's.

"Dear Ms. Tapper:

What is the point of having a director of “diversity” when Kramer Levin denies a platform to someone like Robert Spencer, a renowned scholar on Islam and jihad, who has dedicated his life to fighting for human rights and freedom for all people (including Muslim women to be free of institutionalized misogyny and violence and Muslim girls to be free genital mutilation and honor killings)? How dare you even claim to have a serious commitment to diversity when your firm only allows some points of view to be expressed and suppresses others.

That such a prominent law firm, composed of so many brilliant lawyers, could so abjectly capitulate to the intimidation of CAIR, an unindicted co-conspirator in a 2008 federal terrorism trial in Texas, is beyond comprehension. In that federal trial, U.S. v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, Shukri Abu Baker, Mohammed El-Mezain, Ghassan Elashi, Mufid Abdulquader, and Adulraham Odeh (N.D. Texas, 3:04-CR-240-G), it was established that CAIR was a Muslim Brotherhood front group, that the Muslim Brotherhood is an arm of HAMAS (designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and pledged to the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people) and, by its own admission, dedicated to "sabotaging" the United States from within and subverting its Constitution. CAIR later sought to have the court remove its designation as an unindicted co-conspirator. Its motion was DENIED by the court which stated in its order that "ample" evidence had been adduced at trial to support CAIR’S designation as unindicted co-conspirator. CAIR, therefore, is a front for the most intolerant, supremacist and genocidal ideology on Earth.

As Director of Diversity, you, of all people, should know that tolerating the intolerant in the name of tolerance is as insanely suicidal as tolerating a vicious beating from an abusive spouse in the name of marital harmony.

By sacrificing the First Amendment in its abject submission to Islamic supremacist jihadists, Kramer Levin has given aid and comfort to proven enemies of the United States and has thereby earned itself a well-deserved place in the Hall of Shame and the contempt of all those who love freedom and human dignity and who believe that Western civilization is superior to a death cult from the backwaters of the Middle East whose followers go on murderous rampages over the drawing of a cartoon or the accidental burning of a book.

Shame on you."

American_Exceptionalist replied to comment from paul collins | April 6, 2012 10:31 AM | Reply

Sadly, Paul, although people of other ethnicity are employed there, Kramer Levin is a firm founded by and largely populated by people who are Jews or descendants of Jews.

gravenimage replied to comment from paul collins | April 6, 2012 12:11 PM | Reply

paul collins wrote:

What sort of tin pot legal firm are they...
....................................

Well, Paul, they brokered the release of Uiger Jihadists from Guantanamo Bay to the island nation of Palau—funded by copious amounts of American taxpayer money—for one thing.

Here's Kramer Levin's unintentionally hilarious account of how their clients wound up on the battlefield in Afghanistan because they were seeking "economic, political, and religious freedom" from the Chinese:

http://www.kramerlevin.com/Guantanamo-Uighurs-Released-to-Palau-Six-Men-Flown-to-Temporary-Home-on-Island-Nation-11-02-2009/

The important thing is that Robert Spencer, Daniel Pipes, and freedom of speech won out in the end—no thanks to these dhimmi tools, though.

paul collins | April 6, 2012 3:47 PM | Reply

It truely makes sad reading. Indeed the lawyers are mainly jews, and yet they have become so libral they seem to have forgotten the lessons of history. Some of that history is not so far away.

Their work in gaining the release of the Uiger jihadi's must rank as one of the most selfless acts of submission i've ever read.

Well done to RS and DP for their doggedness in the face of such Dhimmitude. I shall look forward to reading the book.

Diana Summers | April 6, 2012 6:38 PM | Reply

Funny, where I come from there is unlimited freedom for public disussion on "Did Jesus exist?" No matter how unscholarly one side of the argument may seem to be, there is unlimited freedom for people to express their unscholarly views.

Nobody riots over this, or threatens to riot, or becomes afraid of some hypothetical person who might threaten to riot. No matter how much anyone disagrees with the opposition's point of view, neither side of the debate erupts into violence. The worst possible consequence is that someone writes an indignation letter to the newspapers.

I don't know what would happen if anyone held a forum on "Did the Buddha exist?" It must have happened occasionally, but I haven't heard anything about it.

ala sux | April 7, 2012 9:49 AM | Reply

Sadly, muslim have allowed THEMSELVES to be painted as hyper-sensitive time-bombs that suffer from SJS ( sudden jihad syndrome) as Maj.Nidal did after his career of telling people he was going to got Jihad one day but the Military just turned the other way for fear of CAIR crying racism or anti-muslim.

The TTC system in canada just allowed a a pro-islam ad on the subway and as expected the leftist/god-hater embrced it for diversity and tolerance but said it was better than those Christian anti-gay ranting in the bible for ads on Sheltered-Stops that just give a kind message and a http: link to verses.
Justin Trottier is a leftist heterophobic god-hater that hides behind his bogus Free-Thinkers or Critical Thinkers store front sign as if to make him superior, Justin was on Tv with Ezra levant and he had to be dragged screaming just to denouce the School Mosques , but he still bashed the Christians first and only said he wanted a fair system.
The god-haters in the West know they are safe to bash non-muslims because they won't saw his head off with a dull knife, so Justin ends up a dupe and useful-idiot for the muslim brotherhood and CAIR-canada.

Just jump to the 00:03:40 mark and here this apologist for the Atheists mass-murders of close to 100 million civilians as he denies the Communists and fascists were not self-professed atheists.

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/featured/prime-time/867432237001/attack-of-the-atheists/1549391860001/page/2

This little weasel dances around denoucing islamic violence to keep his head on , but he ran for the GREEN party in Ontario and they want a Communism/marxist system were everyone is poor but employed by the State. My crusade to expose this bogus ECO-Warrior worked because he lost
to a honest Socialist/Communist in the NDP that catered to the poor and Welfare votes.

Stuart Parsons | April 7, 2012 3:57 PM | Reply

It is clear that CAIR does not play cricket. They are not gentlemen and do not abide by civilised rules. On the other hand Robert bats and field excently. Come on CAIR play up and play the game.

gravenimage replied to comment from Diana Summers | April 7, 2012 4:39 PM | Reply

Diana Summers wrote:

Absolutely, Diana. No Christian is threatening people—scholarly or otherwise—who question any aspect of Jesus' historicity.

I don't know what would happen if anyone held a forum on "Did the Buddha exist?" It must have happened occasionally, but I haven't heard anything about it.
.........................................

It's just the same with Buddhism, Diana. Even the Wikipedia page for Gautama Buddha just says "we can be reasonably confident that Siddhārtha Gautama did exist as a historical figure".

The ReligiousForums site actually asks, "Since this comes up often about Jesus- Did Lord Buddha exist?"

And it's the same with Judaism, as well—Moses is perhaps the most important figure in Judaism, and Abraham is the foundational patriarch. And yet, you not only find the existence of these figures being brought into question by Gentiles, but by some Jews themselves.

I realize these figures are not quite all of a piece—certainly, Jesus is more central to Christianity than is Moses to Judaism, and Buddha is a concept or ideal as much as a historic figure.

Nonetheless, *none* of the adherents of various faiths become violent and unhinged if their core figures are questioned—except, of course, for Muslims.

The most minor aspect of Muhammed's actions or character can be questioned, and Muslims fly into a rage, imprisoning the questioner on "Blasphemy" charges or simply attacking and murdering him.

That's why Robert Spencer's book is so important. Personally, I believe their likely was a historic Muhammed—or perhaps several figures that Islam was based on.

But it is permissible to question *everything* about Islam and Muhammed in a free society—including whether he existed at all.

PETER SHEARER | April 9, 2012 12:06 PM | Reply

I think Kramer Levin should have a new company motto:

"You can only speak to us if you CAIR."

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