Wednesday, May 16, 2007

CAIR co-sponsors showing of Sami al-Arian movie

America's least favorite former professor, Sami al-Arian, is back in the news.

Here is what FrontPage Magazine's Discover the Network says about al-Arian:

Former professor at University of South Florida

North American head of Palestine Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group responsible for the suicide bombing murders of more than 100 civilians in the Middle East
Civil liberties activist

Active in Islamic Society of North America, World and Islam Studies Enterprise, American-Arab Anti-discrimination Committee, American Muslim Council, American Muslim Alliance, and CAIR

"Let us damn America, let us damn Israel, let us damn them and their allies until death."

Charged with conspiracy to support international terrorism

Acquitted on 8 of 17 counts on December 6, 2005

Al-Arian became nationally known after a disastrous 2001 appearance on the O'Reilly Factor.

A Norwegian woman who probably has a "Co-Exist" bumpersticker on her caris sympathetic to Sami's situation, as the Tampa Tribune reports.

For Norwegian filmmaker Line Halvorsen, the case of Sami Al-Arian is about freedom of speech and about the U.S. government's efforts to silence a tireless voice for human rights.

It is about post-Sept. 11 hysteria and the persecution of a Muslim, as well as the emotionally grinding devastation the prosecution brought to the Al-Arian family.

It is not about the evidence presented in a complex, five-month trial in U.S. District Court two years ago.

Halvorsen's documentary, "USA vs Al-Arian," has won accolades and awards. The producers say it was picked best film at the Norwegian Documentary Film Festival and the New Orleans International Human Rights Festival. The Al-Arians are celebrities in Norway as a result of the film.

The film plays tonight at the Tampa Theatre, CAIR--the Council on American Islamic Relations--is co-sponsoring the showing.

Related post: CAIR-Chicago recommended that DePaul fire Klocek

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