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Features of the "typical Muslim" on the fliers included "suicide vest" and "peg-leg for smuggling children and heroin." |
CAIRO — University campuses across the United States are becoming the stage for an anti-Islam campaign that includes hate posters and a series of activities to rally students against the alleged threat Islam poses to the US and the world.
George Washington University administration, faculty and students came back from the weekend to find the campus painted with posters and fliers with the message: "HATE MUSLIMS? SO DO WE!!!"
The fliers, posted even on kiosks and mailboxes on standard letter-sized paper, featured a picture of a man next to a diagram describing a "typical Muslim."
Some features mentioned include "venom from mouth," "suicide vest," and "peg-leg for smuggling children and heroin."
The posters were quickly removed and the administration is investigating the matter.
"There is no place for expressions of hatred on our campus," Steven Knapp, president of the university, said in a statement.
"We do not condone, and we will not tolerate, the dissemination of fliers or other documents that vilify any religious, ethnic, or racial group."
Fifteen student organizations led by the GW Muslim Student Association, the Islamic Alliance for Justice and the Jewish Student Association issued a statement expressing that they were "appalled at this incidence of hate and Islamophobia."
Doudou Diene, UN special rapporteur on racism and racial discrimination, has recently reported to the UN Human Rights Council that Islamophobia has been on the rise since the 9/11 attacks.
Six years ON, many American Muslims complain that they continue to face discrimination and stereotyping because of their Islamic attires or identities.
In August 2006, a USA Today/Gallup poll showed that 39 percent of Americans said they feel prejudiced toward Muslims, estimated to number nearly seven millions.
Islamo-Fascism
The flyers advertised an upcoming anti-Islam campaign on nearly 200 university campuses nationwide next week.
The Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, scheduled for October 22-26, is sponsored by the Terrorism Awareness Project, which is affiliated with the David Horowitz Freedom Center.
"The purpose of Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week is as simple as it is critical: to confront the two Big Lies of the political left: that George Bush created the "war on terror" and that global warming is a greater danger to Americans than global jihad and Islamic supremacism," the Project says on its website.
The week will invoke a major theme of combating the alleged oppression of women in Islam.
It will feature speeches by a set of figures notorious for their anti-Islam positions.
Dutch writer and politician Ayaan Hirsi, who has built her popularity on criticizing Islam, is among the keynote speakers.
Daniel Pipes, a Jewish columnist and historian known with his scathing attacks on Islam, will be speaking on at least two campuses.
Pipes is a neoconservative icon of Middle East policy.
The Week will also include petitions, documentaries and memorial services denouncing Islam alleged violence against women, Christians, Jews and non-religious people.
The Terrorism Awareness Project was created in January and is dedicated to mobilizing the American public, particularly college students, against the danger of "fascist Islam."
US President George W. Bush has upset many Muslims in August 2006 by linking Islam with fascism.
Since then, Bush and administration officials have used variations of the term "Islamo-fascism" on several occasions to describe groups including Al-Qaeda, its allies in Iraq and even the Lebanese resistance movement Hizbullah.
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