Starting this week, ten New York City subway stations will show new anti-Islamic ads from a new campaign by “American blogger, author, political activist, and commentator” Pamela Geller and the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI). In red and blue letters against a stark black background, the ad reads, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.”
Last September, Geller submitted the ad to the MTA and showcased on her personal blog. The MTA denied her request, citing the word “savage” as “demean[ing] an individual or group of individuals.” However, instead of changing the ad, Geller sued the MTA for violating her free speech. And, in July, the courts ruled in her favor. In his decision, Federal Judge Paul A. Engelmayer wrote that “whatever weight might be assigned to the governmental interest in banning demeaning speech on the exterior of New York City buses on an even-handed basis, there is no good reason for protecting some individuals and groups, but not others, from such abuse.” And now, by court order, the MTA must run the ads.
This not the first time Geller’s brought anti-Islamic propaganda to the advertising game. Last month, Gothamist reported on a different anti-Islam billboard put up at a Metro-North station in Westchester which read “19,250 Deadly Islamic Attacks Since 9/11/01* (*And Counting)” and “It’s Not Islamophobia, It’s Islamorealism.”
The MTA has responded to racist ads in the past, and released the following statement this summer: “MTA does not, however, decide whether to allow or not allow a proposed advertisement based on the viewpoint that it expresses or because that viewpoint might be controversial. MTA (along with its advertising contractor, CBS Outdoor) does review advertisements, including this one, to ensure that they comply with MTA’s uniform, viewpoint neutral advertising standards. MTA does not endorse the viewpoint expressed in this ad or any of the ads that MTA accepts for display on its facilities.”
[Image via]
I am a Christian and this decision by the MTA showing anti-Islamic ads is not a bright idea. These ads may spark problems for the commuters and good working people of NYC.
Jihad is horrible. Savage actually isn’t a bad word to describe it. Being anti jihad isn’t the same as being anti-Muslim though. Equating the two is like saying anyone who opposes Israel is an anti-Semite – inflammatory but not actually true.
I think the real problem here is the juxtaposition of Israel and Jihad. Sure, many of Israel’s Muslim opponents are extremist whackjobs, but many Palestinians have legitimate grievances that should be acknowledged in a way that’s, you know, civilized.
From the picture it looks like actually a subway car or a double bus and not
the station itself. But who cares at that price for transportation I wouldn’t let
it intimidate me into supporting Isreal or Jihad. If you look closely it shows
that those who call others savages can be looked at as savages themselves.
I wonder how long Holder will let thme stay up…
The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting an inexperienced man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama. It is less likely to survive a multitude of Idiots such as those who made him their president.”
ALL EUROPEAN LIFE DIED IN AUSCHWITZ By Sebastian Vilar Rodrigez Tue. 15 January 2008
I walked down the street in Barcelona , and suddenly discovered a terrible truth – Europe died in Auschwitz … We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims. In Auschwitz we burned a culture, thought, creativity, talent. We destroyed the chosen people, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world.
The contribution of this people is felt in all areas of life: science, art,
international trade, and above all, as the conscience of the world. These are the people we burned.
And under the pretense of tolerance, and because we wanted to prove to ourselves that we were cured of the disease of racism, we opened our gates to 20 million Muslims, who brought us stupidity and ignorance, religious extremism and lack of tolerance, crime and poverty, due to an unwillingness to work and support their families with pride.
They have blown up our trains and turned our beautiful Spanish cities into the third world, drowning in filth and crime.
Shut up in the apartments they receive free from the government, they plan the murder and destruction of their naive hosts.
And thus, in our misery, we have exchanged culture for fanatical hatred, creative skill for destructive skill, intelligence for backwardness and superstition.
We have exchanged the pursuit of peace of the Jews of Europe and their talent for a better future for their children, their determined clinging to life because life is holy, for those who pursue death, for people consumed by the desire for death for themselves and others, for our children and theirs.
What a terrible mistake was made by miserable Europe
It should be noted that the term “jihad” literally means “struggle.” This “Struggle” is taken by extremists/radicals/fundamentalists to mean bloodthirsty and violent things, while to your average, moderate Muslim it refers to the INNER struggle to become closer to god/be a good person, having nothing to do with anything hateful or violent.
–the above is what I know from having a Muslim roommate in sophomore year who was an inspiration to me in many ways, and was the most peaceful and caring person I’ve ever known.
Mary Wright sounds like Hitler. She is citing about Muslims everything he said about Jews and she thinks she is enlightened in some way.
Resorting to violence is the most base form of barbarism; unfortunately, there have been a (relatively) small number of Muslims who have deemed it necessary to act “savagely.”
Though there appear to be racist undertones (they could have said “Support Israel, Defeat Suicide Bombers/Terrorism” instead), we can, I think, consider the context of the modern world in which we live, which is filled with use of the word “jihad” in a violent and oppressive context as opposed to the more spiritual use that another reader noted above.
While freedom of speech is all right and well, I think it’s important to note that it is a freedom that should be handled with respect to the ignorant population. What I mean by that is, most people who see that poster are not able to differentiate between Muslims and extremists. All the Abrahamic religions have extremists, fundamentalists, and raving lunatics calling for the extermination of other religions. Every religion also has completely ordinary people who keep their religion to themselves. Of course, Islamic fundamentalists should be stood up to, but so few people in this country are able to separate the majority of Muslims from the few malevolent groups, that this poster will just end up reinforcing their prejudices and making benign Muslims nervous about being ostracized.
@mary wright: the islamophobes could use your skill and expertise. It seems you also have a selective memory. There was a massive ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims in 1995, in our lifetime. Also, Judaism is by no means a peaceful religion, as the god of the Old Testament/Torah is actually quite ruthless and cruel to those who are not Jewish.
Ugh, these ads are very bigoted, and racist (it’s obvious she’s calling Palestinians “savages”). I don’t think any community deserves to be slammed like this. I’m disappointed how many people are supporting the message this hatemonger Pamela Gellar is conveying here.
Freedom of speech was given to the citizens of this country so that they could vocalize their opinions and feelings– responsibly. You’re not allowed to yell “fire” in public places like movie theaters and subways if it isn’t true because the exclamation would cause a stampede and harm other people. By the same token you shouldn’t be allowed to post ads that feed the anti-Islam frenzy and propagate hate because they too can lead to the harming of other people. Thousands and thousands of people ride public transportation to and from work every day in NYC. Ads like this are irresponsible and can lead to train bombings like the tragedy in Madrid 2004.