Judge: Philly Public Buses Must Run Ads Linking Muslims to Hitler

CBS NEWS: PHILADELPHIA -- Anti-Islamic ads could soon be coming to Philadelphia public buses.

CBS Philadelphia reports that a federal court judge on Wednesday sided with a New Hampshire based non-profit on its claim that it has a first amendment right to run bus ads linking Muslims to Hitler.

The ads include images of Adolf Hitler and read "Islamic Jew Hatred: It's in the Quran." While they may be incendiary to some, a federal court judge wrote they're perfectly acceptable under the first amendment.

"He agreed with us on all the issues," said attorney Robert Muise.

Muise represents plaintiff American Freedom Defense Initiative. The group has filed more than a half dozen lawsuits against transit authorities across the country over anti-Islamic ads. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority refused to run their ad saying it disparaged Muslims, but the court held the buses are public forums -- so SEPTA cannot censor AFDI's political speech. » | Thursday, March 12, 2015

Islamic Groups Offer Reward for Arrests for Crimes Committed in Muslim Garb
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: A recent wave of bank holdups and a homicide committed by men dressed as Muslim women has prompted the Philadelphia-area Islamic community to offer a $20,000 reward for tips that lead to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.

The Majlis Ash Shura, an organization representing the membership of 71 masajids and congregations in the Philadelphia area, was joined by elected officials at a news conference Tuesday at City Hall.

The message from the District Attorney’s Office and the Islamic community: zero tolerance.

“Philadelphia is a unique city in that Islam is not new here,” said Aliya Khabir, a public relations official representing the national United Muslim Masajid. “It’s up to us to set the tone for how this is addressed.”

Five bank robberies

Since December, there have been at least five bank robberies in Philadelphia in which the suspects wore Muslim clothing. The most recent holdups include a robbery at the Wells Fargo Bank in the 700 block of Adams Avenue and the Sovereign Bank in the 8300 block of Stenton Avenue. On April 18, a suspect dressed in Muslim garb entered an Upper Darby barber shop and fatally shot Michael Turner, 35. Sharif Wynn, 27, of Philadelphia has been arrested. » | Laura Cofsky | Inquirer Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 25, 2012

'Jihad Jane' Pleads Not Guilty
THE TELEGRAPH: An American woman who authorities say dubbed herself "Jihad Jane" online pleaded not guilty to charges of involvement in an overseas terrorist plot.

Colleen LaRose an American woman known as Jihad Jane. Photograph: The Telegraph
Colleen LaRose, 46, from Pennsburg near Philadelphia, appeared before a federal court wearing a green jumpsuit and with corn rows in her blonde hair.

A May 3 trial date was set.

She was accused of conspiring with jihadist fighters and pledging to commit murder in the name of a Muslim holy war.

Authorities say she wanted to kill a Swedish artist who had offended Muslims, and grew acquainted online with violent co-conspirators from around the world.

They say she posted a YouTube video in 2008 saying she was "desperate to do something" to ease the suffering of Muslims.

She was arrested in October 2009 in Philadelphia while returning to the United States.

LaRose spent most of her life in Texas, where she dropped out of high school, married at 16 and again at 24, and racked up a few minor arrests.

After a second divorce, she followed a boyfriend to Pennsylvania in about 2004 and began caring for his father while he worked long hours, sometimes on the road.

As she moved through her 40s without a job or any outside hobbies, her boyfriend said she started spending more time online.

Though her boyfriend, Kurt Gorman, did not consider her religious, and she apparently never joined a mosque, LaRose had by 2008 declared herself "desperate" to help suffering Muslims in the YouTube video.

"In my view, she sort of slipped sideways into Islam. ... There may have been some seduction into it, by one or more people," said Temple University psychologist Frank Farley. >>> | Thursday, March 18, 2010

Amerikanerin vor Gericht: "JihadJane" rekrutierte Terroristen übers Internet
WELT ONLINE: In Pennsylvania muss sich eine US-Amerikanerin vor Gericht verantworten, weil sie mit fünf über den Erdball verstreuten Komplizen Männer für Terroranschläge in Europa und Südasien angeworben haben soll. Colleen LaRose wollte auch selbst morden. "JihadJane" habe dafür einen "direkten Befehl" erhalten.


”Jihad Jane”, auch als Fatima LaRose bekannt. Foto: Welt Online
In einschlägigen Kreisen ist sie als „JihadJane“ und „Fatima LaRose“ bekannt. Ihre Mission: Mit Hilfe des Internets, Kämpfer für den islamischen „Heiligen Krieg“ (Dschihad) zu finden. Jetzt klagte die US-Justiz Colleen LaRose aus dem US-Staat Pennsylvania an, weil sie mit fünf über den Erdball verstreuten Komplizen Männer für Terroranschläge in Europa und Südasien angeworben haben soll.

Die Gruppe habe zudem Frauen rekrutiert, die mit unverdächtigen Pässen in Europa umherreisen und den „Dschihad“ unterstützen könnten, teilte das US-Justizministerium mit.

Die 1963 geborene Frau habe überdies einen „direkten Befehl“ erhalten, einen schwedischen Staatsbürger in seiner Heimat zu ermorden. Damit solle „die ganze Welt der Ungläubigen“ das Fürchten gelehrt werden, hieß es in der Mitteilung, allerdings ohne näher zu erwähnen, wer den Befehl erteilte. LaRose sei daraufhin nach Europa gereist und habe das potenzielle Opfer über das Internet ausgekundschaftet, „mit dem Ziel, die Aufgabe zu Ende zu bringen.“ Im Falle einer Verurteilung muss sie mit lebenslanger Haft und einer Geldstrafe von bis zu einer Millionen Dollar (741 000 Euro) rechnen. >>> dpa/fas | Mittwoch, 10. März 2010

Verbunden mit diesem Artikel:

US 'Jihad Jane' Charged With Planning Terror Attacks in Europe >>> Tom Leonard in New York | Thursday, March 09, 2010

WELT ONLINE: "JihadJane" plante Mord an Mohammed-Zeichner >>> dpa/jm | Mittwoch, 10. März 2010

Jihad Jane: American Blonde Accused of Terror Plot
Colleen LaRose, as shown in a police mugshot. Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: A blonde American woman who went under the online alias "Jihad Jane" has been accused of plotting to murder a Swedish cartoonist for drawing a picture of the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog, it emerged today.

Colleen LaRose, a 46-year-old Muslim convert from Pennsylvania, was said by prosecutors to have used the internet to make contact with jihadists overseas and was persuaded to use the fact that she was a white American to get through security surrounding the artist, Lars Vilks.

A US Justice Department official said last night that the case "shatters any lingering thought that we can spot a terrorist based on appearance".

Ms LaRose was arrested in Philadelphia in October last year, but her indictment remained sealed until after the arrest in Ireland yesterday of seven people - three women and four men - involved in a suspected plot to murder Mr Vilks.

The cartoonist has been holed up in a rural hideout since his cartoon appeared in a Swedish newspaper in 2007, a year when the publication of similar cartoons in Denmark sparked violent protests across the Islamic world.

Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the Prophet - even favourable - for fear that it could lead to idolatry, and al-Qaeda put a bounty of $100,000 on Mr Vilks's head.

Three Swedish papers reprinted his image today in a gesture of solidarity. One, Dagens Nyheter said in an editorial that "Vilks doesn’t stand alone in this conflict. A threat against him is, in the long term, also a threat against all Swedes."

A federal indictment charges that Ms LaRose, who also called herself Fatima Rose, agreed to kill Mr Vilks on orders from the unnamed terror contacts and went to Europe to carry out the killing.

It also alleged that Ms LaRose, who has blond hair and blue-green eyes, indicated in her online conversations that she thought her appearance would help her move freely in Sweden to carry out the attack. >>> Philippe Naughton | Wednesday, March 10, 2010

US 'Jihad Jane' Charged With Planning Terror Attacks in Europe
THE TELEGRAPH: An American woman known as "Jihad Jane" was charged by US prosecutors on Tuesday with recruiting jihadist fighters to plan terror attacks in Europe and South Asia.

Colleen LaRose, a woman from suburban Philadelphia who was "desperate to do something" to help suffering Muslims, is also accused of agreeing to kill a Swedish citizen on orders from unnamed terrorists.

Miss LaRose, who is believed to be 47, is alleged to have travelled to Sweden to carry out the killing, but it is understood she was stopped by the authorities before she could do it.

A Justice Department statement said she was recruited over the internet by a contact who ordered her to kill the target in a way that would frighten "the whole Kufar [non-believer] world".

US prosecutors say Miss LaRose, who is also known as Fatima Rose, and five collaborators believed that her appearance and American citizenship would help her "blend in" while carrying out her plans.

They also allegedly recruited men online "to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe, and recruited women on the internet who has who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad", said the statement.

The suspect, who faces a possible life sentence and a $1 million (£670,000) fine if convicted, is also accused of stealing a US passport in order to "facilitate an act of international terrorism". >>> Tom Leonard in New York | Thursday, March 09, 2010

University Students in Philadelphia Fail to Grasp Wilders’ Message
PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS: Amid a firestorm of contention, several hundred people heard Geert Wilders, a controversial Dutch parliamentarian, speak last night at Temple University.

During his approximately 30-minute speech, Wilders called the Quran "an evil book" and said that the United States was facing Islamization.

A question-and-answer session was cut short, and Wilders was escorted out of the lecture hall after some students began shouting insults at him.

Before the speech, held in Anderson Hall, more than 50 protesters had denounced the appearance of Wilders at the school.

Members of All Sides, an organization that seeks to promote peace between Israel and Palestinians, held pink pom-poms and shouted, "Hey Hey, HO, HO, this racist bull----'s got to go."

Standing next to them with signs decrying Wilders' views were members of the Student Senate, Democratic Socialists and the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance.

"Wilders speaks out about free speech while at the same time banning the Quran," said Megan Chialastri, vice president of All Sides.

"Banned books are not free speech and there is no way around that," Chialastri said.

"This is hate speech at its core," said Monira Gamal-Eldin, president of the Muslim Students Association. Protesters, But No Incidents, Greet Anti-Islamist at Temple >>> Christine Olley | Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Hat tip: Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch>>>

Barack Hussein Obama’s Speaks on Race

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