It is good to know that Congress still holds some who are not dhimmis. Florida Congresswoman Brown-Waite has written a marvelous letter to CAIR bullyboy Ahmed Bedier (whose love notes to me you can read here and here), refusing his demand that she condemn Hernando County Commissioner Tom Hogan and his wife, Mary Ann, for calling Islam a “hateful, frightening religion.”
Summary from the St. Petersburg Times here (all links thanks to Sugarquub). More details here. And here is a pdf of Brown-Waite’s letter.
Some choice excerpts from it:
Mr. and Mrs. Hogan have shown tremendous fortitude by resisting the pressures of your group to retract their statements. I am sorry that Jeb Bush and Carol Jean Jordan from the Republican Party were so quick to also forget that we have freedom of speech and that the Hogans were made to feel that they are the ones who were in the wrong. The Hogans have a right to their opinion just as you have a right to yours. Mrs. Hogan expressed in her statements the views of many of my constituents, and while they do not encourage harmony in the community, they should demonstrate to you how many United States citizens perceive your faith. Your area of concern should not be focused on the statements of the Hogans, but rather upon the actions of many in your community who created these beliefs….
You may recall our meeting on May 29, 2004, when I met with you and other members of your organization…You should also remember that I was invited over to the home of a prominent doctor in Hernando County to allegedly “have some tea and see how his children were doing.” Imagine how surprised I was upon entering the home to find a group of eight or more men sitting in a semicircle preparing to have a discussion with me. It certainly was not the casual social event I was invited to, but not being the type to shy away from a healthy discussion, I joined in and listened.
It was suggested to me that the group needed a Member of Congress who would be sympathetic to the CAIR-Muslim view….
When it became apparent to you that I was not willing to champion your cause in Washington, you Mr. Bedier, made the following statement, which was so outrageous I remember it almost verbatim. You told me that you had done research on me and found that I was Catholic and then went on to say, “Catholic priests pose more of a terrorism threat by having sex with young altar boys than those who flew the planes into the World Trade Center.” I found the statement so bizarre that I asked you to repeat it and, without hesitation, you did. It was at this point that I stood up and told you that the meeting was over. I also pointed out the fact that the Catholic priests did not kill 3,000 innocent people, and that we knew where the guilty priests were located and they were not hiding in caves. I then left…
I suggest you not only review the U.S. Constitution but also the Florida Constitution and statutes.
Mr. Bedier, in closing, I know many fine Muslims who would be well served by your resignation from the local CAIR office. Your militancy and manipulation of facts does not serve them well.
In this post I took issue with the Hogans on points of Islamic theology, as well as strategy. Those remarks were correct as far as they went, but on reading Congresswoman Brown-Waite’s reply to Bedier I don’t think they go very far. Her approach is vastly superior, and I’m sorry I missed the initial opportunity the Hogans’ remarks presented to stand up more strongly for freedom of speech — and against CAIR intimidation. Apologies to the Hogans, and kudos to Congresswoman Brown-Waite.