A major leader in the coast-to-coast mosque protest movement is the Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) group, founded by a European group Stop Islamization of Europe (SIOE) that focuses on protests against mosques in UK and Europe. SIOE has been criticized by moderate, pro-freedom groups such as British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD). In May 2010, the SIOE protests against a mosque in Denmark attracted Neo-Nazi supporters, until photographs were taken of a Danish group’s Nazi swastika banner and the SIOE sought to pull the swastika flag down and dismissed them from the protest. The motto of the European group SIOE is that “Islamophobia is the height of common sense.”
It was this European SIOE group that created the Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) group and in September 2009, the SIOA group sought to protest a Muslim public prayer session on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. In September 2009, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) challenged the SIOA group and condemned their plans for disrupting the Muslim prayer session and the SIOA organization’s support of “Islamophobia.” International news media also reported on the SIOA’s plans to disrupt the prayer session with SIOA’s view that “Islamic prayer is nullified if a dog, a woman, or a donkey are present.”
The SIOA efforts were faltering until April 2010, when the European SIOE persuaded new leaders to take on the role of guiding the Stop Islamization of America group: Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer.
- April 2010: European Group SIOE Convinces Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer to Lead Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) Chapter (Photo: SIOE Website)
The European group created a Facebook page for the SIOA leaders to build followers via the Internet, and the SIOE has continued to develop a trans-Atlantic joint efforts to promote “Islamophobia” and to protest mosques. SIOE leaders joined in the Park Place Mosque protests in NYC on June 6, 2010.
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- Islamophobia United: Stop Islamization of Europe (SIOE) – right and Stop Islamization of America – left – Unite in Protest against Park Place Mosque in NYC
While the American SIOA movement seeks to be portrayed in the media as merely “conservative,” the SIOA supporters have recently called for the “criminalization of Islam,” as well as promoting the “Burn A Koran Day.” The SIOA Facebook website is replete with vulgar and obscene images and cartoons of calls for nuclear bombs on Mecca, urination on the Qur’an, and most vulgar images possible of Muhammad. SIOA supporters have called for violence and promote hatred. SIOA supporters have made vulgar and obscene comments against specific Muslims, which the SIOA supporters defend tolerating as their defense of “free expression.”
On Sunday, July 18, 2010, SIOA Executive Director Pamela Geller made yet another appeal for support for the violent extremist group “English Defence League” (EDL) which has been involved in multiple riots, and whose members were recently arrested after throwing bricks at riot police officers during their protest of a potential mosque in Dudley (that had already been canceled.) One of the SIOA supporters has darkly claimed that a group like the violent “English Defence League” is being created in America today!
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- This is the English Defence League Promoted by the SIOA’s Pamela Geller – in April 2010 – EDL Protesters Breaking Through Riot Police Barriers (Photo: Daily Mail/PA Wire – David Jones)
The transatlantic effort of “Islamophobia united” is only bringing an organized effort to channel and fan the flames of hate and violence that Europe has been seeing against mosques and Muslims here now to America
