CAIR Asks Calif. Radio Station to Reprimand Anti-Muslim Hosts

CAIR Asks Calif. Radio Station to Reprimand Anti-Muslim Hosts

Segment misstated Muslim beliefs, mocked Islam and political participation by U.S. Muslims

WASHINGTON, April 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on a San Francisco, Calif., radio station to reprimand two talk show hosts for a recent segment in which they mocked Islam, misstated Muslim beliefs and cast suspicion on political participation by American Muslims.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reported that KSFO 560-AM host Brian Sussman and co-host "Officer Vic" said during their Monday program: "Islamic finance is about living within your means and helping the needy - unless they're Jews," and "The great honorable qualities of that good old time religion: honor killings, female circumcision, not allowing women to drive...Jews are monkeys, pigs."

Listen to the audio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6gShjY_Nx4

CAIR is asking American Muslims and other people of conscience to contact KSFO officials and advertisers to express their concerns about the hosts' anti-Muslim remarks.

"Radio hosts are free to hold bigoted views, but listeners have no obligation to subsidize those views by purchasing the goods or services of companies that choose to advertise on hate-filled programs," said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. "So-called 'honor killings,' female genital mutilation and not allowing women to drive are not part of Islam. Muslims respect Jews and Christians as 'people of the book' who received earlier revelations from God."

He cited the Quran, Islam's revealed text, which states: "Those who believe (in the Quran), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), the Sabians, and the Christians - any who believe in God and the Last Day and work righteousness - on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." (Quran, 5:69)

Hooper said this was not the first time Sussman made offensive remarks relating to Islam. In 2005, he asked a caller to prove he was not Muslim by saying "Allah is a whore." In 2007, another host at KSFO warned "enemy" Muslim nations: "You keep screwing around with stuff like this, we're going to kill a bunch of you - millions of you."

CAIR is part of the Hate Hurts America Multifaith Community Coalition (HHA), a group of religious and civic organizations seeking to challenge hate speech in American society.

HHA was formed as a result of radio talk show host Michael Savage's rhetorical attacks on religious and ethnic minorities. It waged a successful campaign to urge advertisers to stop running commercials on Savage's program. The coalition includes public officials and civil rights advocates, as well as representatives of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Latino, and Asian communities.

SEE: Hate Hurts America
http://www.hatehurtsamerica.org/

SEE ALSO: How Islamophobes Spread Fear, Bigotry and Misinformation
http://www.smearcasting.com/

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties and advocacy group has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

Source: Council on American-Islamic Relations

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper,
+1-202-488-8787, +1-202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications
Coordinator Amina Rubin, +1-202-488-8787, +1-202-341-4171, arubin@cair.com

Web Site: http://www.hatehurtsamerica.org/
http://www.cair.com/

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