Brigitte Gabriel
ACT! for America has a problem. Its first problem is that it was founded by Brigitte Gabriel. Yes, the same Brigitte Gabriel the New York Times called a “radical Islamophobe” and who in the past has made statements like “Arabs have no soul,” and “Arabs are barbarians.” She might be novel eye candy for some (which I’m guessing is the reason Bill Maher had her on his show) but it is clear that Brigitte Gabriel is a whacked out fundamentalist with a seething rage against Muslims and a determination on the one hand to destroy Islam and on the other to make as much profit in the process.
The other problem with ACT! is that it is an organization filled with the types of people we see at Tea Party rallies. You know the ones who dress up in late 18th century regalia a la George Washington or carry around posters about Obama being a Kenyan, or Hitler, or Joker or a Marxist Mooslim anti-Christ coming to change America from a Christian nation into the Soviet Union.
The ACT! for America scheme essentially boils down to an organization masquerading as a “defender of Western Civilization” akin to the claims of other Islamophobes such as Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller. They have a binary view of the world, the Bush mantra of “you’re either with us or against us.”
Brigitte Gabriel pretentiously declares on the ACT! site, “I founded this organization to give Americans their voice back…” Brigitte, Americans never lost their “voice,” unless the “voice” you want to give back is the Jim Crow voice that unleashed the dogs and water hoses on Southern blacks fighting for civil rights and against White racism because that is the historical parallel which fits into your rhetoric.
Those White racists were saying the same thing Brigitte is saying today, that we need to “defend Western civilization.” To the White racists of the South, Western civilization equaled White and Christian. Today Brigitte claims a bigger tent though it is bigoted just the same, to her Western Civilization equals Judeo-Christian and de facto excludes any Muslim.
ACT! is an organization shot through and through with Christian fundamentalists. That is why at many of their events one will see a Christian missionary preaching the Gospel while other ACT! custodians will be passing out anti-Islam literature.
In this video a representative for a Florida Chapter of ACT! for America spews his hate filled beliefs about Islam. He brags about using the Quran as toilet paper and urinating in Muslim ablution sinks (starts at 45 seconds):
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn5UfW6GOc4 350 300]
I guess that is defending Western Civilization for you. The original user (an ACT! member) who put up the above video on YouTube has removed it. Obviously realizing that it hurts their credibility, but luckily someone else downloaded it.
Also in Florida where they seem to be the most active, ACT! for America chapters were angered at the appointment of Parvez Ahmed to Jacksonville’s Human Rights Commission. They couldn’t countenance a Muslim being appointed to anything in an official capacity (even though 90% of them probably believe that Barack Obama is a Mooslim). So they began a campaign to smear Parvez, saying he was filled with Taqiyyah, that he was a terrorist, a terrorist supporter, etc. To do so they brought up his time as an employee with CAIR. ACT! members falsely held the belief that they could shout “CAIR!” and it would be enough to stop the train and ruin someones career and reputation.
An anti-Muslim organization is lobbying Jacksonville City Council members to vote against confirming a University of North Florida professor to the city’s Human Rights Commission.
Parvez Ahmed, who is Muslim, was appointed to the voluntary advisory board by Mayor John Peyton and recommended for confirmation by the council Rules Committee. A vote on his confirmation is scheduled to occur at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The group ACT! for America caught wind of his appointment last week and e-mailed a 20-page report Friday accusing Ahmed of having ties to extremist groups through his service on the board of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“When it comes to a human rights commissioner, Jacksonville can do better than this nomination,” said Randy McDaniels, leader of ACT’s Jacksonville chapter.
The mayor’s office and some City Council members dispute the organizations’ claims and said there is no proof Ahmed has radical ties. Deputy General Counsel Cindy Laquidara will attend Tuesday’s council meeting to answer questions about Ahmed’s background.
Councilman John Crescimbeni, who initially suggested Ahmed to the mayor’s office for a nomination, said the group and its last-minute claims against the professor have no credibility.
“In fact, I checked out some of those allegations made in the original e-mail that came out last Friday,” Crescimbeni said. “It looked like a cut and paste job. It’s pure hate on their part.”
Crescimbeni said Ahmed, who is a Fulbright Scholar with decades of public service under his belt, would be an asset to the Human Rights Commission.
“I can’t think of a better person to serve on that commission than him,” he said. “He is the guy that’s all about peace, and he’s all about getting along.”
Council President Richard Clark said Ahmed’s appointment is currently included on the consent agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, meaning it would be approved quickly with several other items. However, he said, any council member can request that it be taken off the consent agenda and discussed separately.
“I have no intention of pulling it,” Clark said. “If people felt that strongly about it, they should have spoken up long before the confirmation process at Rules.”
McDaniels said ACT learned of Ahmed’s nomination after media reports surfaced about the Rules Committee vote and Councilman Clay Yarborough’s questioning of the professor’s opinion on separation of church and state and gay marriage.
Yarborough voted to recommend the professor after receiving responses he considered satisfactory, but he now says the ACT report has given him pause. He said he wants to know more about its claims before deciding whether he will vote for Ahmed’s confirmation.
“If need be, I will adamantly oppose confirmation of his appointment on the floor tomorrow if there are established links here that are of concern,” Yarborough said Monday.
The ACT report ties Council on American-Islamic Relations to extremists because it was listed as one of 300 unindicted co-conspirators in a Department of Justice terrorism financing trial. That matter ended in mistrial, and CAIR was never accused of wrongdoing.
McDaniels’ group offered no evidence that Ahmed had directly attempted to support terrorist groups.
The mayor’s office is standing by its decision to nominate Ahmed to the Human Rights Commission, saying it conducted the same criminal background and reference checks as all other nominees to a board or commission.
Ahmed said the scrutiny he has experienced in recent days has not deterred him from wanting to serve on the commission, but he worries about the message it is sending.
“I am afraid other qualified individuals may be discouraged to pursue public service,” he said. “Hate groups like ACT do not belong in our Democratic process.”
Councilman Art Shad, who is chairman of the Rules Committee, expressed the same concern and said the next two weeks will be important for the City Council as Ahmed and two others come up for confirmation to the Human Rights Commission.
“We want to be very careful in how we act because we need to set the example of being level-headed, although we want to be thorough in our view,” Shad said.
He said any council member has a right to ask questions of nominees, but he hopes there is an air of respect to the process and to those who want to volunteer their time.
tia.mitchell@jacksonville.com
(904) 359-4425
Unfortunately for ACT! people aren’t buying into the conspiracies anymore, and their cries about CAIR are falling on unsympathetic ears.
Jacksonville panel votes again to recommend Ahmed for commission
After nearly two weeks of controversy, the City Council Rules Committee voted 4-1 today to recommend University of North Florida professor Pervez Ahmed as a member of the city’s Human Rights Commission.
The nomination now goes to the full council for approval.
Only Councilman Clay Yarborough voted against Ahmed. He had voted to approve Ahmed at the last Rules meeting.
Mark Woods: Jacksonville councilman Clay Yarborough takes turn at answering questions
“I have too much of a reasonable doubt based on the research I’ve done over the last week and a half,” Yarborough said.
Voting in favor were Art Shad, John Crescimbeni, Denise Lee and Bill Bishop. Council Vice President Jack Webb left the room before the vote was taken; he told The Times-Union he stepped out to get a soft drink and was surprised that the vote came so soon.
The meeting was interrupted by shouting and several people walked out.
Ahmed said of the vote, “It’s a vindication for the City of Jacksonville more than for me … The city needed an outcome that demonstrated courage, that demonstrated moral clarity.”
Ahmed’s nomination was opposed by ACT! for America, an anti-Islamist group. Randy McDaniels, head of the group’s Jacksonville chapter, said, “It is surprising that so many people are pushing this individual and I would ask why.”
This story isn’t over but it is clear that the days of maligning Muslims for standing up for their civil rights will not get a free pass. However, the dogged persistence of hate groups such as ACT! for America means Americans of all stripes will have to be vigilante and work hard to fight hate.
ACT! for America maybe more properly known as Hate! for America because that is what they represent, as is evident by the bigotry of their founder Brigitte Gabriel, the witch hunt against Parvez Ahmed and the video of the hate filled ACT! for America representative make plain.
April 20th, 2010 at 10:39 am
Gabriel is ugly both inside and out (no wonder she’s angry). Thanks for exposing “ACT!”, fortunately sensible people aren’t buying their bullshit.
April 20th, 2010 at 11:08 am
Thanks for the piece. ACT! is crazy, I don’t know why anyone would take their hate campaigns seriously.
I have to give it up to the students in the vid. who are challenging their stupidity.
April 20th, 2010 at 11:39 am
The scariest thing by far in this piece is the photograph at the top.
April 20th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Well now the good news,
These Christian fanatics like Brijitte Gabriel are the reason so many Evangelicals in America are dumping their faith. The Evangelical left wing, the new force in America, recently made an anti Israel movie, showing their solidarity with the Palestinians.
Gabriel is listed as a speaker with the Hasbara Fellowships. Hasbara Fellowships are run by Aish Hatorah International, an organization aligned with the Israeli Likud Party, which has close ties to the producers of “Obsession.”
Franklin Lamb, write the truth about this media whore here, i’d ask readers to check this out, it exposes her lies, and her right wing Zionist funders, Likudniks and Armeggedonites
———————–
From Lebanon with Hate
The Maid of Darkness from Lebanon’s ‘Meadow of Springs’ Imports Extreme Islamophobia Stateside
http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/02/from-lebanon-with-hate/
by Franklin Lamb / February 23rd, 2008
some extracts
“Before moving to Israel and eventually to the United States, Brigitte worked for Middle East TV, a Marjayoun-based station run by the South Lebanon Army (SLA) and funded by Israel. It moved to Cyprus for a period and was later purchased by Pat Robertson, who is now building a Christian Zionism Center in Israel. After obtaining a green card by marrying an American, Brigitte set up a business selling her new country “insider information not available elsewhere” about the existential dangers posed by Islam and Arabs, based, she announced, “on my unique perspective having been nearly killed by them and rescued by Israel.”
Regarding recent Lebanese affairs, according to her former neighbors in South Lebanon, Brigitte has been a close supporter of the Phalange militia and SLA since her teenage years. According to her ACT office in Virginia Beach, Brigitte hopes to host the current Lebanese Forces warlord, Samir Geagea—fives times convicted of murdering various Christian opponents and their children—during his upcoming March visit to the US.
Denied a US visa since his murder convictions, Geagea has been forgiven by the US embassy in Beirut, and he will spend much of March with the Welch Club discussing military aid to Lebanon and subjects of mutual interest to the Bush administration, Israel, and the Lebanese Forces.”
April 20th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Ah, the classic typo in the protester’s sign…gotta love the irony of someone calling her president an idiot while making a basic grammar mistake
[Unless my eyes are blurry, it looks like she put an apostrophe in "its"].
April 20th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
What really irks me is that people like brigitte gabriel, waleed shoebat etc. who are Arabs completely sell their soul and their whole history for money. I mean seriously? Arabs have no souls? I firmly believe that these people are not who we think they are. I don’t believe that they are “ex-Muslims.” Bull. Somebody is pulling the strings. And I’m afraid it might be a powerful person. Walid Shoe-bat himself, a Palestinians refugee, opened an organization to “fight for Israel in the media”!!!! WTF! I’m speechless! All of these Islamophobes have this undying love for Israel. It’s scary. Even bat-sh** crazy Queen of birthers Orly Taitz has connections to Israel.
April 20th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
@Her face = the next joker
It’s no accident. Zionist groups are behind many of these islamophobes.
And Gabriel is no Muslim, she’s a Lebanese Maronite who openly supports the South Lebanon Army (Christian terrorist militia funded and trained by israel) which massacred thousands of innocent people in refugee camps in Lebanon.
Walid Shoebat was never a Muslim and he fabricated his entire life story. Even Debbie Schlussel (anti-Muslim blogger) exposed this fraud on her blog.
@Lena Rose
You’re seeing it right. Basic grammatical mistake by the mental midgets of the tea party. And they think they’re smarter than a Columbia/Harvard grad. lol!
April 20th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
@Les, I personally don’t find Gabriel attractive but many people seem to. *shrug*
That is why I think Maher had her on. That is the only explanation I can come up with, because how else can Maher explain having and uncritically engaging with Gabriel?
I hope you are correct that most sensible people aren’t buying their B.S.
April 20th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
@Beautiful Muslim Doll,
Is it possible to get footage of Gabriel when she worked for that extremist TV show? I m sure she had lovely monologues extolling the virtues of the SLA.
April 20th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
@Garibaldi
Bill Maher would not pass up the opportunity to have someone as anti-Muslim as her on his show. He is very anti-Islam. He also had Hirsi Magan (Ali) on his show. It’s not for her looks. He needs people to validate his ego and views. It’s not about looks.
April 20th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Garibaldi
Do you mean from her programme in Lebanon? I havn’t come across any footage of her years before she was in the USA, but if i do i’ll post it here.
And to the people commenting on Gabriel’s looks…I can understand why white men would find her attractive, opposites attracting..and all that
a tall think black woman has a large fan base amongst white men. I find that in Europe too, they tend to like “women of colour” for example in the Scandinavian countries, the best men there are often bagged by Asian, black and other “exotic” women who are different to the run of the mill blonde scandinavian woman.
af for Gabriel, the Christian Taliban would find her attractive no doubt, especially if they share her Islamophobia like the lower class in America does, white trash (without meaning to offend people) are mainly the lower class Armeggedonites, whom the likes of her and Pastor Hagee appeal to. It’s no co-incidence that as they move up the social scale they leave right wing Evangelism. That’s why Obama got a large chunk of the young left wing anti Zionist evangelicals.
Sarah Palin represented the other crowd, the older lower class Armeggedonites (once again i apologise if it offends) that’s why Pam Geller is orgasming after her.
Anyhow to get back to the point, just ask Lawrence (the resident Christian Islamophobe) if he finds Gabriel attractive. I bet he does!
Of course, she cant hold a candle to a true beauty like me…hehehehhe
April 20th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Good point Les. He is very anti-Islam. Generally I think that has to do with his mostly anti-religion views, but he is extra vicious with Islam and Muslims.
I agree he needs people to validate his ego and views but I don’t understand why he chose a religious fundamentalist akin to Jerry Falwell (who he would never have had on his show) to speak on the topic.
April 20th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
@Beautiful Muslim Doll
“And to the people commenting on Gabriel’s looks…I can understand why white men would find her attractive, opposites attracting..and all that”
I know what you mean, but not any “exotic” girl is going to look good. Gabriel is ugly period. Not sorry for being harsh. When you’re ugly on the inside, somehow you look even more ugly on the outside.
@Garibaldi
It’s because he’s also very anti-Palestinian and pro-Israel. So he especially likes to attack Islam and Muslims with regard to the Israeli issue that is dear to his heart. That’s why I don’t like Bill Maher. He gives Israel a pass on things he would never give his own government. The guy praised Bush’s position on Lebanon and Gaza. He’s a PEFI. A Progressive Except For Israel.
April 20th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
I believe Brigitte Gabriel is just a psuedonym, her real name is Hanan Tudor.
April 20th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Bill Maher makes fun of all religions. See his movie “Religulous.” He is a good man and liberal, and a great comedian. You will find plenty of people in America who think religion is stupid, no exceptions, not even for yours. That does not make him anti-Islam. He is a person who thinks religion is ridiculous – or religulous. Quite frankly if more people did not take religion so seriously, the world probably would be a better place. As some one said, “God protect me from your followers.” A religious person is not necessarily a good person, or any less prone to commit violence and murder and promote fascism. In fact religious people are more suspect, as they are to ascribe to God their cruelty thereby dodging responsibility and trying to make their wrong “righteous.”
“Maher is highly critical of religion, which he often describes as a neurological disorder that justifies crazies and stops people from thinking logically.[31] In two separate appearances on Real Time, comedian George Carlin and Maher argued that religion is a cause of many of society’s problems and that the practices of religion are mired in hypocrisy. Maher credited Carlin’s views as inspiration for him to speak out against religion.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Maher
April 21st, 2010 at 12:55 am
I wonder if Maher hides behind comedic freedom when throwing out scientifically baseless comments, e.g. that religion is a “neurological disorder”. Liberulous?
I remember him saying that the problem with the Middle East is the Koran–i.e. Islam–which is another ridiculous comment for anyone who has the slightest knowledge of and insight in to that region. Maher schmaher.
April 21st, 2010 at 1:52 am
TYO:Quite frankly if more people did not take religion so seriously, the world probably would be a better place.
Do you have empirical data for that, or is it something that you conjured out of thin air? The things you sometimes say make me wonder what your true agenda is, TYO.
April 21st, 2010 at 5:05 am
ACT! is doing this national conference thing in DC in June, just an FYI. Muslims & non-muslims alike should do a demonstration informing others of its hate-filled roots.
http://www.actforamerica.org/files/ACTFlyerRevised.pdf
April 21st, 2010 at 8:09 am
@TYO,
I used to think the same way about Maher until I saw “Religulous” and some of his youtube clips dogmatically defending Israel. Maher is NOT “against all religion,” he clearly has a special hatred reserved for Muslims.
I myself am not Muslim or particularly religious but it’s clear to me that Maher is a Zionist hypocrite. Besides the fable that “religion causes all the world’s problems” is an old recycled lie Western secularists have long peddled while colonizing and plundering the world’s resources.
April 21st, 2010 at 8:29 pm
Couldn’t agree more Unimpressed with your assessment of Maher. I don’t live in America, so Maher’s reputation preceded him and I got the impression he was some ‘hard hitting’ personality. I was surprised when I finally got around to watching his show at what an intellectual lightweight he was. Moreover, how *transparently* stupid so many of his guests were and how he agreed with them when they made the most bigoted, and idiotic statements. There’s a particularly painful episode shortly after 9/11 where Angry Arab is on and is surrounded by idiots. It’s on youtube.
Oh, and Happy belated first birthday Loonwatch! May you have many more years of success. I hope George Soros got you all something nice to mark the anniversary, hehe.
April 22nd, 2010 at 6:14 am
“Besides the fable that “religion causes all the world’s problems” is an old recycled lie Western secularists have long peddled while colonizing and plundering the world’s resources.”
Only Western secularists, huh, have this feeling about religion. That too you think it was peddled for colonizing and plundering the world’s resources. I disagree with that, and I have friends of different religions including Islam, of different backgrounds, who would disagree with that too. Liberals in all sorts of countries do not support secularism for plunder. From what I see it is the liberals/secularists who have been against prejudice, and been trying to create a livable world for a diverse population.
I said religion shouldn’t be taken too seriously. I do think there is a positive side to religion, and I did NOT say it is the source of ALL problems in the world. It is a significant one both domestically and internationally. I am very proud of my country’s founding fathers separation of church and state. It allowed for the positive side of spiritual belief. The separation of church and state is a powerful method to defend against the worst side of religion.
I disagree with your view of Maher. I don’t see Maher’s Religulous as anti-Islam than it was plain old anti-religion.
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:56 am
Loonwatch’s first birthday?? Now that is news!! When?!
April 23rd, 2010 at 1:04 pm
@TYO,
Perhaps I did not make myself clear enough in my previous comment. I meant that secularism of the West did not in any way curb their violence against the rest of the world. When it came to ravaging non-western societies the Pope and Voltaire were in agreement. The late Sam Huntington, the author of the “Clash of civilizations” thesis clearly stated that “The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion, but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.” We in the South America region certainly have not forgotten.
Just because the separation of Church and State works for you doesn’t mean the rest of the world with its own distinct history(s) has to or should follow in your footsteps. The notion that man can be “civilized” by divorcing his spiritual identity from his material reality is nonsense, and non-Westerners will not accept it. Personally I have nothing but love and admiration for sincerely religious people. Not to bore you with my own personal history but I would not be here if not for the actions of a deeply religious Muslim man who saved the life of my great grandmother when Indians were being brought to the Caribbean by British slavers in the late 19th century. While Indians were not technically slaves(like the Africans brought previously), they weren’t free either and often worked in miserable conditions. The Brits used to rape young, unmarried, attractive women during the voyage, often killing them after and dumping their bodies in the sea. A Muslim man used Islam’s law of polygamy to save my great grandmother, and never once touched or took advantage of her. Once safely settled in Trinidad, he divorced her so she could marry a Hindu. Her son, my grandfather was proudly named Abdullah(“servant of God”) after the man who saved her. He was probably the first Hindu in the Americas with a Muslim name. There are many such stories of heroism which will never be heard of in the West.
I’m not a religious Hindu, but I dislike western secularism and its patronizing exagerations and lies against religious communities, especially Muslims, many of whom are dear friends.
American Liberals have traditionally been more interventionist as opposed to their conservative counterparts. In Europe, some of the most vile racism comes out of the mouths of liberal politicians.
As for Bill Maher, he is not against all religions, and certainly not equally. He’s a Zionist opportunist who reserves his worst venom for Muslims. His dogmatic defense of Israel and Jewish fundamentalism is more then enough proof of that. He was on Larry King a few years back justifying the mass murder of Iraqis as a lesson to Muslims not to anger Uncle Sam even though they didn’t have anything to do with 9/11. The man is not right, and liberals should examine him more critically.
April 23rd, 2010 at 11:07 pm
Salaam and hello.I live in orlando where this video was shot,my attends this university.Iwant firstly to share that this same group in the video is also under investigation by the FBI for harassing and stalking local muslims. I sent this video to CAIR a few days before ACT! planned to go back to this school.ACT! canceled that event(april 6th) the day before it was supposed to take place after 20 minutes after this video was released.I have a note from the director of this chapter of ACT! admitting that it was his video.he sent it to me on FB.Another point I would like to make is the orlando tea party <which i am a part of,cut ties with this group months before this incident took place because they crash a local muslim org meeting.The CEO of the local tea party was actually attacked by a local GOP arrack dog for her stance with the local muslim community.Only the orlando sentinel and other small online sources covered this story I thank you for taking the time to share this with the public.The Alan Kornman and Dan Fenters of the world need to be exposed for who they really are.You know for a group defending america……they had 5 isreali flags on their table…..not one single stars and stripes.Wonder who they really stand for.
April 24th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
@Unimpressed….I have been enlightened about your last post, its very heartwarming my brother.
April 29th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Watch out for loon Chelene Nightingale for governor 2010!
July 18th, 2010 at 7:15 am
I was there at UCF that day, I heard them say the same thing but more before this, these people are absolutely terrible
July 28th, 2010 at 2:36 am
Thank you for giving me an opportunity to comment. I attended a presentation of ACT! for America & found Brigette’s story & information quite compelling & persuasive. I don’t believe she’s preaching hate, actually, what she is doing is exposing it.
The level of religious fanatacism and pure evil being done by these terrorists groups & the terrorist mindsets is off the charts. I do not want to see this in our country. I stand with Brigette & her organization.