I was further disturbed by a slide he presented that afternoon. On the slide he pictures books written by Brigitte Gabriel, Noni Darwish, Hirsi Ali, Robert Spencer, Steven Emerson among others. He questioned their expertise, the validity of their experiences with radical Islam and worst yet their motivation. In a library, the implication was to avoid certain books. I don't need to get into the details. You can look up these authors and make your judgements based on their resumes, experience and the content of their books. Suffice to say that among those in this group of authors you will find a scholarly exposition of radical Islam and witnesses who painfully tell of their personal victimization at the hands of radical Islam.
Woman in particular should be alert to the clarion call of the brave witnesses listed above. Hopida claimed they were "exploiting" 9/11. The female authors listed above live with a contiuning threat to their safety because they have the audacity to tell the truth. All were dedicated to their cause prior to 9/11. In a capitalist economy one gets published when a publisher perceives an audience. Common sense tell us that more Americans were interested in reading about radical Islam after September 11, 2001. Hence the publication of their books.
So as San Diego Chapter Leader for Act! For America I felt an obligation to respond to Mr. Hopida. Act! For America is a grass roots national security organization founded by Brigitte Gabriel dedicated to protecting America from radical Islam (actforamerica.org).
To the great credit of the San Diego Public Library and it's director Deborah Barrow, I was given a chance to respond in the same venue hosted by the library.
CAIR had a bit of a hissy fit when they found out I was allowed to respond. They demanded that a Moslem expert on Islam accompany me on the podium. Mr. Hopida had the podium to himself. CAIR pumled the media with a press release containing accusations directed at Act! and by implication me. But Ms. Barrow, in the American spirit of fair play, held her ground. Under an email, phone and Internet assault using words like 'Islampphobic', 'bigotry', 'racism' and 'anti-semitism' she held her ground. CAIR traveled down the low road.
I need to thank Mr. Hopida and CAIR. On July 11 he spoke to a crowd of about 30 people in a room that holds about 180. It was a rather dry pseudo academic presentation by a young man oblivious to his good fortune.
On August 15th I was the beneficiary of a rousing group of about 200 (standing room only) enthusiastic Americans. Jews, Christians and Moslems gathered to listen. A wonderful representation of veterans took the time to attend as well.
It was civil. I will let others decide if my presentation was enlightening, inspirational and effective or not But what it did say was that Americans want balance. They understand that in America liberty and fairness reigns supreme. If only Mr. Hopida understood how unique America is in this area. As scared as I was, I have never spoken to such a crowd under such circumstances, I was buoyed by the support I received.
My message involves spreading an awareness of the "transcendent challenge of the 21st century." Radical Islam (note not Islam as a whole) over the last 50 years has become a virulent cancer metastasizing within Islam. As I told the audience, since 1948 11 million Moslems have died violently. Ninety percent at the hands of other Moslems. We all know of the 1000's of incidents of non-Moslems murdered by Islamic terrorists. So the challenge is both to protect the liberty of the west and for the majority of Moslems to purge their faith of it's murderers.
I have much more to say but that will await future blogs. Please support the cause of the preservation of liberty, religious freedom, gender equality, gay rights and fair play by checking out Act! For America. Help me get the word out by providing me with additional venues to make my pitch for America and freedom.
